The Little Latios' Secret
by Latios1056
Summary: When a small Latios discovers the legend of Alto Mare along with its guardians, he also finds many secrets of his past and future. Will he be able to keep them away from his friends and family, yet be on their same side?
1. Training

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

**A/N: Hello there and welcome to my first fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it!  
**

**Anyways, read on and enjoy!**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 1- Training**

* * *

In the middle of a peaceful scenery, fighting could be heard. There were two people who were combating each other. One was an old man, aged about 50. He had a small beard and covered up most of his body with a large cloak. He also wore a blue hoodie-jacket hybrid and jeans, but most of the time, that was covered by the cloak. White stripes ran into each other, leaving the blue part to a triangle. A hollow, red triangle was placed in the middle. A simple desert cap covered his eyes.

The other combatant was simply a 12 year old kid. He wore all of the same type of clothes, except the cloak and desert cap. His blue hair was short and spiky, and his eyes were dyed with a deep, oceanic blue. His body build was like any other average kid at his age. However, his situation was different from many others as he was getting pummeled with volleys of punches and kicks.

The child put his arms up in a desperate defense, but the older man simply kicked him to the ground. He struggled to pick himself off the forest grass. Every single muscle in his body yelled for him to stop stressing them, and his uniform was littered with bruises, scratches, and blood stains. Nevertheless, he jumped back up and continued with his practice. He ran close to try to execute an uppercut, but the older of the two grabbed the punch and started to twist his arm. The child cried out in pain, but the man showed no emotion. Finally, he let go and shoved him into the ground. Hard.

The man sighed. "Listen Blu, if you're ever going to be good at anything, you need to at least beat me in a simple battle."

The child simply grunted and pulled himself up. He knew better than to argue back.

"Now look at my eyes," the man demanded.

"But Dad…" Blu complained. Before he could even start, he received a hard, invisible slap on his face. Blu never knew where it came from. It just did.

"Don't call me that," the man grumbled.

Blu rolled his eyes. "Fine. Sky, who do we even bother with this? Why do I even have to call you by your name? You're my father for Arceus sake!" the blue haired kid ranted.

Sky winced again and gave Blu another invisible slap. He should've known better.

"YOU WILL NOT USE OUR CREATOR'S NAME IN VAIN!" Sky shouted, loud enough to send several flying type Pokémon fleeing from their roosts.

Blu simply closed his eyes, sat down, and sighed. He found himself searching through his memories again; a flashback, as Sky would call them. Five years ago, he had awoken on the forest floor. He had no idea where he was, not even inkling. The man, now known as Sky, simply took him in and raised him until he was 10. Everything was peaceful then. There was no need to fight. However, during the next two years of his life, all he saw was practice and drilling through various training situations from sunrise to midnight. That was what had happened every day since then, stopping only to eat and rest. Throughout the years that Sky had raised him, Blu had determined that Sky was very religious and strict on some occasions, such as if something was done wrong. However, he could also be kind.

Finally, he replied. "I understand, Sky…" Blu said in a barely audible whisper.

Sky sighed and softened his gaze. "You wish to know what your past is, correct?" The question caught Blu somewhat off guard. Sometimes, he was just sure he was using his psychic power to read his mind and surprise him. He could always counter with his own psychic, but the situation probably wouldn't turn out to be the best.

"Yes," Blu replied eagerly, barely able to wait. Sky always told the most interesting stories.

"No, Blu, I will not be telling you a story," Sky told him sternly, much to the child's disappointment. "You will experience it yourself tonight when you sleep." Blu was dumbfounded. How would he be able to find his past in his sleep? He spread his body over the grass and stared at the moon. Once again, it was the start of the cycle again- a new moon. Perhaps that had something to do with it?

After a moment, the two got up from their moon gazing and started towards the little wooden cottage Blu called home. As he walked, he thought about his own life. All the time he had known, he had never seen another person other than Sky. Several times, he tried talking or playing with some of the nearby Pokémon that lived in the trees and bushes near the house, but Sky would always catch him. He had been told that interacting with them in any way was strictly prohibited. Blu never understood why all the rules had to be so strict, but he simply followed them, knowing it was easier to follow along than to argue against the tide. Many mysteries still surrounded, however. What was life like in the outside world?

He would find out. One day…

He smiled again as his guardian tucked him into his bed and wished him good dreams. Blu smiled, knowing that he would be right.

However, all he received was the opposite as darkness began to spread in the world.


	2. Nightmare

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 2- Nightmare**

* * *

In his dream, what Blu saw was the worst you could give for any child. He saw blood. Death. Weapons. Pain. He blinked several times, trying to get a more clear vision at what he was seeing. Upon doing so, he immediately regretted it.

He saw 2 Pokémon flying down a long hallway. There were carcasses of dead men laying everywhere. Each of them where wearing a black uniform with a blazing "R" painted on it. There were even more of them chasing them with small rifles.

Blu could see all the terror but was too focused on the 2 Pokémon. Both were similar, but different. The one slightly ahead of the other had a blue and white down, similar to the same tone as his shirt. The Pokémon had a streamlined shape with sharp, triangle shaped wings. It also had 2 small spiky tuffs sprouting from its head which Blu assumed to be ears. On its head, was a pair of sharp brown eyes along with a white oval printed to its forehead. It had a long white neck that lead to its somewhat round body. Two "fins (legs, kind of)" connected to its body, along with a pair of semi- oval shaped hands, each with 3 claws on them.

The one following had many of the same characteristics as the other, except that it was shorter and sported a red and white down. An upside down pentagon replaced the oval on its head. Its ears were also curved back farther. The fins were also smaller and different, along with a small nub that separated the two at the back.

Each of the Pokémon was carrying what seemed to be a baby version of them. Blu immediately recognized the two Pokémon. The red ones were Latiases, and the blue ones were Latioses. Sky had an abnormal fascination about them for some reason….

The Latias did a small aileron roll and fired the hyper beam she was charging. '_I… I don't know how much longer I can keep up_!' she shouted to the Latios.

'_Hold on! We're almost there!_' was his only response. Turrets popped out from the ceiling and started firing sedative darts at their targets. Latios put up a hasty protect, leaving their sonic boom to destroy the weapon. However, the boom did little to the men chasing them. They were in suits that kept up constant shield of protect. They even managed to strap small jetpacks to keep up.

Both of them increased speed as they saw the last lock down door closing. It was their door to freedom. If the missed it, they would just become prisoners again. All of a sudden, a red streak pierced through the air and landed with a sickening "thunk" sound. Latios whipped his head around in horror to see that Latias had several sedative darts stuck in her neck. He quickly stopped his trip and tried to pick her up with his free hand. Several bullets were fired, their boom frightening the baby Latios and Latias they each carried. As the Latias felt her consciousness fade away, she made one last decision. She used her psychic attack and forced the surprised Latios straight through the closing doorway.

That was when Blu woke up. At that time, he found himself that he wasn't Blu. He had changed into the blue and white feathered Pokémon he had seen in his dream.


	3. An Open Door

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 3- An Open Door**

* * *

"AAAAAHH!" Blu screamed at the top of his lungs. All that came out was a high pitched coo. What in the Abyss was going on here!? He heard several steps coming towards his direction and was relieved that it was Sky's shadow. This feeling was taken away when he saw the figure burst into flurries of light, leaving behind a large, dark feathered Latios. Blu tried to scream again but a psychic attack clamped his mouth shut. He tried moving his long neck in any direction but found it restrained by the invisible force once again. Slowly, his eyes moved to the Latios again. He saw that his feather color was exactly the same as Sky's uniform. He also had massive scars running down his eyes, leaving him with white eyes and pupils and also blind. Once he saw this, realization dawned upon him. Sky is the Latios.

Sensing that Blu was calm once again, Sky released his psychic clamp. Blu took the mobility to levitate himself into the air and look at himself. He was about 4 feet tall, somewhat small for a Latios. Blu frowned on this but decided to ask him later.

He turned to Sky and asked, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Sky simply sighed and shook his head. "Your father had ordered me to." Wait, what? His father? If Sky wasn't his father, then…then…. Pieces started locking into place. It all made sense now. The vision he had seen was his father and he escaping…. but what happened after? Why was he being raised in secret?

Blu was filled with many mixed emotions. Should he be happy? Should he be angry at Sky? Even more questions had aroused from his vision. All of a sudden, he felt himself tearing up. No…. he was too old to cry. Tears started to fall like a flood. More personal questions flooded through. Who were the Latiases then? Who EXACTLY was his father? Why was he here?

Sky simply looked at Blu with sympathy. "I'll show you more in the morning. Go back to sleep." Blu checked his clock and read the time. It showed 12:30. Blu nodded and levitated back to his bed. Sky went to his side and tucked him in once again. After Sky had left the room, Blu got up once more. He didn't care that he was going to learn in the morning. He was going to, one way or another, find out the answers to his questions now.

He got up and shape shifted back into his human form. All his wounds were fixed from Sky coming in each night and healing him with recover. He got up and walked through to the living room to a storage closet. Sky had told him never to open it, but he just had to know what was behind it. After all, today he had found out he was a Pokémon and know had somewhat of a vague idea of who his parents were. "What else can I find?" Blu wondered. The palm of his hand opened and went in to grasp the handle…

…and passed right through the door. Blu had expected a defense mechanism of some sort but all that separated him was a simple illusion. He quickly shape shifted into his Lati form (Blu had practiced a lot with his psychic powers with Sky before) and headed through the imaginary door, oblivious to what secret it held.


	4. Secrets

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 4- Secrets**

* * *

The sight took Blu's breath away. The entire room was dark but at the same time, futuristic. Blue streaks of energy shot through the walls, powering anything connecting to them. Those things, namely, were all sorts of modified weapons and suits that seemed to be made by Team Rocket. In one corner of the small room was a laptop. In the middle was a giant hunk of a metal of some sort. Next to the piece was Sky in his human form, who was currently busy working on it with a blow torch. He also had a thin, blue psychic mask that protected his face. He wasn't wearing his desert cap to keep his eyes shadowed, leaving Blu to see the eerie white that lied beneath. He wasn't sure if he should be afraid or amazed. Things right now just didn't add up.

Sky looked up from his work. "Ah…. I see you couldn't wait?"

Blu nodded. "I want answers about who I am… no. I want to know about my family. Also, I want to know who you are," Blu demanded. Sky was somewhat surprised about the last part. He had only expected Blu to concern himself.

Tears began to well up in Sky's eyes as memories flooded back to him. "Your father," Sky started, "was a very good man… well, Pokémon. He wanted the best for his children. After his escape, he found his way to me. I was known at the time for being a very good illusionist, despite being blind. Your father handed you to me, where you started your human life. As for your mother, I do not know where she is or what her condition is." More tears began to flood Sky's eyes as he began to think of his own past. "Your father made sure you had this," Sky continued as he handed Blu a small necklace. The token strapped onto it was made of rusty metal and seemed to be in the shape of a quarter of a circle. There were also small latches that seemed like it could connect to other pieces. The design showed a blue shadow of a small Latios flying to the left.

Blu was shocked for a moment when he took the necklace. It seemed familiar somehow. "… Thank you…" Blu finally managed. "Err... what about your life?" Blu wasn't sure how to ask the question after knowing Sky for 5 years.

Sky winced at the question. He thought he had moved on with his past life. "You know we live near the city Alto Mare, right?" Sky questioned, although he was pretty sure of the answer already. Blu nodded. "All right. That's all you need to know about. Now leave and go to sleep before I make you."

Blu gulped and headed out the door. He heard of the legendary tale about how a Latios had sacrificed his life to save the water city, so he wanted to stay inside and ponder about it further. However, he knew that Sky's punishments were pretty strict. As Blu levitated back to his bed with dry tears, Sky was levitating back in his Lati form with new wet tears.

"I… I'm sorry… my daughter and son." Sky said hoarsely as the hour hand struck one.


	5. Ash's Visit

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

Author's notes: Lets pretend that Ash has his Johto Pokemon equipped for old memory sake, ok? I'm having trouble with the timeline and all...

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 5- Ash's Visit**

* * *

**Location: Alto Mare**

"Come on guys, hurry up!" shouted an eager Pokémon trainer. After being dropped off by the boat, he had immediately run off to find one of his friends.

"Why… do… we… always have… to… follow him?" Brock panted as he struggled to keep up. Misty simply shrugged and walked past him, taking no sympathy on the eye-less man.

Almost three years had passed after Latios's death in Alto Mare. Ash had just finished his Unova journey and was about to head out again when a dream occurred to him. It told him to visit Alto Mare once again. Knowing how prophecies were written, Ash knew better than to argue and headed over to the small water city, along with Misty, Brock, and his best buddy Pikachu to accompany him. Plus, it let him have a chance to meet up with some old friends.

"Pika-pika…" Pikachu replied. He shrugged as well and bounded off towards his trainer.

The entire port was busy today as small ships ferried goods inland and outland. As usual, Ash got lost again and ended up wandering towards the same area he had last time. Pikachu immediately spotted the very familiar pump and suddenly felt quite thirsty.

"Well, I guess there isn't much to do here," Ash stated. "Better head ba-" He was cut off when a girl wearing a green shirt and small, white skirt entered the area. Her hairstyle was very unique as it had parts of it curved around while other parts tuffed up. She was also wearing a white beret and was carrying several art supplies. The moment she saw Ash, her expression changed from casual to nervous.

"Why are you here?" she whispered anxiously.

"I'm not sure," Ash admitted. "I just stopped by for a rest. Is something wrong Bianca?"

"Yes. Follow me, quick!" Bianca said in a hushed whisper as she ran down an alley. Ash and Pikachu followed. Luckily, she had a better sense of direction and led them straight through the illusionary wall. The Secret Garden was still well kept and hadn't changed much over the year. The trees were well trimmed, small Pokémon were out and about, the water was still and unmoving… wait, what?

Over near the soul dew pedestal was Latias, her eyes blazing with psychic energy as a small blue shield surrounded her. Her claws barely moved as they hovered, sparkling with white aura, over the precious jewel.

Ash was completely awed at what had happened. Every molecule seemed to be suspended in midair. His expression turned to a deep frown and filled with worry when he saw Lorenzo, who was standing right behind Latias, frozen waist down.

"Bianca! Move away, quickly or else-" Lorenzo's warning was cut short when Latias shot a glance at him, freezing his entire body.

Bianca gasped and fell crying. Latias heard and looked over in their general direction but otherwise stayed focused on the jewel. Ash was just dumbfounded. Why was one of his best friends attacking their own guardian? A brief black aura flickered over him, causing a startled Pikachu to jump off his shoulder. Ash frowned and started towards Latias. Latias shot another glance at Ash, causing his entire left leg to be frozen.

Ash grunted in pain but continued towards her. Latias frowned and then opened her mouth, charging an ice beam. Pikachu countered with a long range thunderbolt. Ash looked over with a face of gratitude and continued to move forward, step after step up the stairs. Now at a closer range, he could see that Latias wasn't angry. She was nervous, anxious, and scared.

'_Don't, don't come near me!_' she stuttered. Ash simply grunted and kept walking forward as a heavy rainstorm came in. A few feet away, he saw that her expression had turned into a very frightened one. He lifted his hand and put it onto the blue barrier and to the surprise of everyone, went through without any resistance. He was only several inches away from the corrupted eon Pokémon and then…

…he hugged her. At that moment, the barrier faded, water started flowing again, and time seemed to resume its trip. All the ice melted, freeing Lorenzo, and a very tired Latias floated down and fell unconscious in deep sleep. Everything was as peaceful as before.

It took Ash several minutes to register what had just happened. He quickly spun around and shot an angry look at the Lati's guardians, who at the moment were having an emotional breakdown. There was just one question shooting through his mind. What in the world had just happened?


	6. Kidnapped Pt 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 6- Kidnapped Part 1**

* * *

**Location: Unknown-Rocket Base-Pokémon Pincher 59th Division**

"Have we tracked them yet?" a voice asked.

"Yes sir. Shall we send in the special squad, sir?" replied a grunt.

"Yes. Keep all weapons locked on non-lethal. I don't want to do too much damage. Make specific orders to not destroy anything or kill anyone. Use standard breach protocols. Destroy all evidence," the voice commanded sternly.

"But sir! You know how powerful he is. If any of them make it out alive, then-" the grunt protested.

"NO LETHAL FORCE!" the voice boomed once again. The owner of that voiced sighed. "_One day, we will meet again…_" he thought.

**Location: Atios Island-small island off of Alto Mare**

**Two hours after plotting**

"Sky? Sky! Wake up!" Blu shouted right into Sky's ear. Sky groaned and pulled himself up from the ground. He found himself still in the secret workshop with both of them in their Lati forms.

"_This better be good…_" Sky thought to himself as he checked the clock. It read 3:30. "What is it?" he asked out loud.

"I felt a strange vibration in the aura a little North of this area. It doesn't feel too good…" Blu reported. He had been told that if he had felt anything strange, he should go and tell Sky immediately. How he learned it was aura was a little odd. He had never been told about it before.

Sky looked up and twitched his ears. He heard something familiar… No. Please Arceus no. Seeing his alarmed state, Blu also got ready, although he was panicking a little. He had some training with Sky on what to do in the outside world but not enough to keep him alive for more than several days. He didn't know how to hunt as he never held any weapons and only found out about his Pokémon state yesterday.

The larger Latios simply looked at the ground. He knew that this day would come. He knew what was going to happen. This was the day he was going to die. Again…

**Location: Outside of the cabin**

Several Humvees skidded to a halt and got into defensive positions, their machine guns covering every inch they could see. The timer was set to the standard breach countdown.

_T-minus 5 minutes…_

"We're clear! Everyone, move in!" shouted a grunt as dozens of others filed out behind, each of them carrying assault rifles loaded with darts. This was a class-X mission, one of the highest ranking missions a rocket operative could receive. Failure was not an option. Their mission: Capture both Pokémon that were inside. Both were considered highly dangerous. The man who had plotted the mission stood behind the operation, watching every step with a critical eye.

_T minus 3 minutes…_

"Breach the door!" a higher commanding grunt ordered. One of the grunts standing in front of the door fired a high recoil shotgun several times, tearing the door from its hinges. All the grunts rushed inside and started scanning room after room with special optical lenses.

_T minus 2 minutes and 15 seconds…_

Blu was shivering with fear. The shots that came from above startled him too much. Only Sky was quick to react. He used psychic and grabbed a satchel, emergency kit, and half of a pair of an eyeglass, shoving them all into Blu's small claws. "Wha-what's going on?" Blu stammered. Sky didn't talk to him and shoved him into secret compartment in the same corner as the computer. While doing so, he also unplugged the laptop and handed it into his claws.

_T minus 1 minute and 45 seconds…_

"I found the area!" a grunt shouted out. All his colleagues bunched together as a team of five entered the room. Blu was startled by the sight but didn't have any time to warn Sky.

"Now leave. Don't turn back. Go and find Latias and Ash. Only then can you look back." Sky told Blu sternly. All of a sudden, the door slammed shut, cutting Blu off from Sky. Pokémon screams of agony could be heard as more darts were fired.

_T minus 1 minute and 30 seconds…_

"We have the first captive! Where's the second?" a grunt shouted as he kneeled over Sky's struggling body.

"He's on the other side!" replied another. The door killer tried shooting the new door, but it didn't budge.

_T minus 45 seconds…_

"Dammit! We don't have any time left. Let's move!" cursed the commander of the squad. They picked up the still struggling Latios and headed out the building.

_T minus 15 seconds…_

"We have him, sir!" the carrier of Sky shouted over. The man frowned.

"Where is the other?" the man yelled over the commotion as the forces struggled to leave the building. The carrier barely had time to answer as his timer made a sickening beeping noise.

_T minus 3 seconds…_

The carrier made a lunge for it, landing just in front of one of the Humvees with Sky still strapped to his back.

_T minus 2 seconds…_

Several of his teammates ran over and picked him up, dragging him behind the Humvee line just before it was too late.

_T minus 0 seconds…_

The bombs that had been planted inside the house detonated. The initial blast would've wiped out half of the small island's area if it had not been for the psychic shield the Humvees formed at the last millisecond. With nowhere else to go, the blast shoved downwards into the ground, effectively destroying any bottom levels of a building.

The carrier sighed in relief as he strapped off the unconscious Latios from his back. The man looked down again and frowned. He was afraid that this was going to happen. He opened his mouth to sentence the grunt to a harsh punishment but then closed it again. Even if they set more time on the timer, he knew that the outcome would be no difference. They loaded the eon Pokémon onto a Humvee and drove away, leaving no evidence that a small cabin had ever existed.


	7. Sleep

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 7- Sleep**

* * *

**Location: Port of Alto Mare**

Blu groaned as he sat up. He was currently in his human form. His clothes and hair were all frizzled. He dug into his book bag and found a Pokédex, a present time passport, and everything else Sky shoved into his arms just before he was teleported away. Blu checked his watch. He carried one everywhere since Sky was also very stern about time… "_More mysteries, the merrier,_" Blu thought sarcastically. The watch read 4:00. Blu groaned and got up, heading to the nearest Pokémon center. Sky had planned for every bit of this. He had trained Blu on what to do if he was in a position like this. Show Nurse Joy the passport and Pokédex, make up an excuse, and rest for the remainder of the day but keep a high guard.

The doors to the center opened automatically to let late visitors in. Nurse Joy looked up from some papers on the front desk. "Trainers like you shouldn't be out this late," Joy informed him.

"Sorry. My boat dropped me off, but then I fell into a river and got lost for quite a while," Blu quickly lied.

"Alright. May I see your Pokédex?" Joy replied. Tourists often fell into the river and were usually stranded for quite some time, despite Officer Jenny's best efforts. Blu handed over the Pokédex where she scanned it. She handed it back along with the keys. "Your room is number 6. Have a nice stay!" she said cheerfully.

Blu checked the Pokédex as he headed down the long hallway. It already had a picture of him on it along with a made up alibi. He was just shocked. How did Sky know to plan for this much? For all he knew, he didn't even have any simple electronic devices in the house!

He was about to open up the door when he heard some hushed voices from room 5.

"Where do you think Ash is?" a more male voice asked. The name froze Blu's entire body stiff. He stood still as he tried to eavesdrop more on their conversation.

"Probably hanging out with Latias and Bianca at the Secret Garden. Lorenzo should've called us by now… I hope it's nothing too important," the more feminine voice responded. "We should probably go to sleep now. Night Brock."

"Good night Misty," Brock replied. The rest of the building fell into silence as Blu turned the keys of his room and walked in. He remembered another one of Sky's lessons; don't stray from your schedule. He set his stuff down and started to succumb to sleep. Perhaps he could ask them now. No. That was enough secrets for the time being. Perhaps it would've been better to wait for Sky to tell him more about his past. He didn't have much time to think as he fell asleep into deep slumber.


	8. Kidnapped Pt 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 8- Kidnapped Part 2**

* * *

**Location: Class-T stealth ship-on route to secret Rocket Base**

Sky groaned and tried to open his eyes. "Well, well," a voice rang out in his cell. "You're finally awake."

The Latios took a look at his surroundings. He was in quite a long room with many tubes lined up against each wall. Each of them held a Pokémon surrounded in a green fluid. Sky found himself in a similar tube with many wires attached to his body. He tried struggling, but found his entire body immobile. Not even his ears had been spared.

The man clearly saw the Latios' struggle and commented on it. "Don't try it, Sky," he told him. "You know what would happen." Sky simply rolled his eyes downward. He had been in this situation so many times, he lost count. All of them involved in him escaping and usually blowing up the base in the process.

"So… your family…" the man started. Sky choked as tears started to form. "Right. I won't touch that." It was a good thing that they were in the dark room alone. Any form of mercy would be punished by Giovanni.

'_Why did you join Team Rocket?_' Sky questioned. The man sighed as he sat down next to the tube.

"I'm not sure… I just knew that after that stupid ranger kid beat me, I just couldn't go back. I had no other choice but to join Team Rocket." the man replied in a somewhat depressed manner.

'_It doesn't have to be like this,_' Sky commented.

"Yes it does. I've worked my entire life capturing Pokémon. I can't just stop," he replied.

'_What will you do when she finds out?_' Sky pushed on. Now it was time for the man to choke up as tears started forming in his eyes.

"I… I don't know," he stammered. "What about your family?" Both of them were quiet as they wished they could've done something to their past. Fate just wasn't that kind.

**Location: Alto Mare- Secret Garden**

One hour before Sky's abduction…

"I don't care about my sleep. I'm worried about Latias!" Ash protested.

"We all are, but you can't stay up all night. We moved Latias inside the workshop. She'll be warm and fine." Bianca replied. She shivered as she looked around. Frozen water doesn't warm up instantly.

As they went inside, both of them smiled at the sight of the sleeping dragoness. Lorenzo had already headed home to wash off the small ice molecules that had formed on his skin. "Sweet dreams, Latias," they both whispered as they headed off to sleep.

"So what happened?" Ash asked curiously as they both brushed their teeth.

"I don't know… although I think that Latias was trying to talk to her brother," Bianca replied sadly. Ash was quiet after that. The death of friends is a very sensitive topic.

An hour after that, Latias's eyes shot open. She knew something terrible had just happened. Thirty minutes later, she found her entire body filled with pain. She opened her mouth to call for help but her entire body was immobilized. Her psychic brain was jabbed over and over again, preventing her from doing anything, including levitating herself. Shortly, several men came by, each of them wearing an entire uniform of heavy, black armor. Each one also had gas masks covering their faces along with night vision binoculars and goggles. Even if Latias was in a position to fight them, each carried a small pistol and rifle, loaded to the brim with sedative darts. Not even her psychic powers would be able to penetrate their battle helmets. She tried squirming again but felt that her entire nervous system was shutting down.

She was about to give up until she saw one of them was carrying the Soul Dew in a small container. She became even more horrified when she saw a familiar "R" on one of the men's shoulder pads. "Someone… help me…" she thought sleepily as a sedative dart dove into her neck.

**Location: Pokémon Center**

Blu had barely fallen asleep when he heard several loud knocks on the door. "Who could be up at this time?" he wondered. He quickly got up and pulled out a thick jacket and put it on. Why was it so cold all of a sudden? The knocks started getting louder and more impatient.

"Hold your Rapidashes! I'm coming!" he shouted. Why were some people so impatient sometimes? He gathered his things and stuck on his backpack. Before he did, he looked at the glasses one more time. It looked too odd to function… perhaps that was to be solved another time. With a heave, he pulled on his satchel. Whoever it was, he might as well be ready… He unlatched the door and opened…

…Only to be shocked by 60,000 volts of raw electricity from an electric lance. He groaned and fell unconscious, his heavy satchel leaning onto him. The ones that shocked him were wearing the same uniform as the ones that had captured Latias. They took one more look in the room and then picked up any evidence along with their captive, silently heading out the night. The center was just as quiet as before.


	9. Future Nightmares

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 9- Future Nightmares**

* * *

Latias groaned and blinked her eyes several time. The sun was just rising, indicating that it was around 7:00. She strained her neck, somewhat surprised that she could move. She then tried to get up but immediately stopped when she noticed something was wrong. She knew that she was still in the city of Alto Mare but no longer on solid ground. They were in an all too familiar looking speed boat…

"Rise and shine," a feminine voice said. Shivers ran through Latias's back. Trembling with fear, she turned her head up to see two people she never wanted to see again. Annie and Oakley.

"Well, looks like she still remembers us. Too bad she can't do anything about it." Oakley taunted. Their Pokémon also stuck out their tongues, finally happy on completing their long mission.

Latias looked around a little longer. She didn't see anything that would prevent her from attacking them. No cage surrounding her. There was also no one awake, so she supposed it didn't matter if she caused a little ruckus to get revenge on the two who had killed her brother. She charged up a tackle…

…And rammed right into an invisible barrier. She felt her consciousness slip away once again as their laughs echoed through her nightmare.

…

Once Blu regained the tiniest bit of consciousness, he did a front flip right into an invisible barrier. He blinked as he tried to recover from the impact. He looked into his satchel and was relieved to find that everything was there. After doing a quick psychic scan, he figured that they were on a moving speed boat (still in Alto Mare), but nothing else. There must've been a jamming device somewhere. One of the men in suits came over.

"I see that you've awaken." he said in a monotone voice. There was no expression or any hint of anything in his voice. It just seemed to be pure nothing.

Blu looked at his assailant, studying him at a closer range. He had a black war helmet and gas mask on his head, although now the green lights on the optics were turned off. The rest of his suit was bulky and armored and had smaller pads of armor on the leg and arm joints. There also seemed to be two blades that stuck out of his elbows. Since the lighting was much better now, he saw that the color scheme wasn't black, but dark green.

"I never knew that Team Rocket needed mercenaries to do their job," Blu taunted. He had heard about the organization from Sky. The giant "R" on the ships gave it away.

"Do not push yourself. You will find many surprises," the soldier said ominously. Blu raised an eyebrow. Then, with a flurry of light, he transformed into his Latios form. The soldier was shocked but stood his ground. Blu charged up a tackle…

…And somehow blew right through the cage. He floated there in shock as he was having trouble processing what had happened. He knew that he was supposed to have been rebounded, but…

He didn't have much time to think as the guard regained his senses and jumped towards him.

**Location: Secret Garden**

"This is not good…" Lorenzo kept mumbling. A sleepy Ash got up and got dressed. He checked the clock again. The time was 7:15. He knew that the eon twins often got up early to scout the city for any signs of danger. Something must've been troubling Lorenzo that he got up this early.

As he headed out from the workshop, he noticed that Latias was gone. "She must've already woken up," Ash suggested to himself as we walked over to where Lorenzo was mumbling. He looked at where his line of sight was pointing at. He followed it and as his eyes gazed upon the Soul Dew pedestal. His heart stopped. The only thing remaining there was a card with 2 kisses on it, one red and one purple.

* * *

(1)- I got my idea from the Battle Nation troops, if you were wondering.


	10. Escapee

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

Author's notes: I do have a nagging feeling that the last nine chapters were way too short... well, here's chapter 10! Keep in mind that I do have at least up to chapter 20 ready. I just need to reread, edit, and upload. Also, the chapters will get longer from here on... a lot compared to the previous ones.

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 10- Escapee**

* * *

The guard lunged at Blu with the same electro lance as before. He had no time to react when the lance hit him but felt nothing. He looked back down at the guard, who was groaning in pain as he tried to regain his mobility. Blu knew that he didn't have much time left, so he quickly turned invisible and flew from the speedboat. He could think about what had happened later.

From there, he rose up a thousand feet, making it hard for any person to see him but still gave him an excellent view due to his sharp eyesight. He saw that it wasn't one speed boat, but a platoon of them along with some larger ships. All of them were leaving the harbor and had an "R" painted somewhere on it. There were two small ships that caught his attention. The one he was just held captive on and another sleeker one. By then, the guard had regained mobility and was standing on the deck. There was another wearing the same suit that accompanied him, but he but had a dark shade of blue instead green. Both were looking up and seemed to acknowledge his location despite not wearing any equipment.

The sleeker speed boat had a powerful aura coming from it (he had read some books about it when Sky wasn't looking). He couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, but it seemed to be a living Pokémon. He would've seen it if it weren't for a giant canvas covering it and a shield blocking out all signals.

"_Go. Find Ash_," a voice rang out in his head. Blu looked around in confusion. Who could possibly be talking to him? "_Go now!_" it commanded. For some reason, he knew to follow its instructions. Blu tucked in his arms and started his search.

**Location: Command boat**

"What do you mean he escaped?!" Giovanni demanded. He had just received a report from one of the holding ships that their captive had escaped. The plan was supposed to be flawless. He was supposed to have all 3 (4 if you count the Soul Dew) Pokémon by the end of the day. He had paid those mercenaries good money. How could they have just lost it just then? They had even a better track record than Pokémon Hunter J for Arceus sake!

"Apparently, the modifications you gave to us on our weapons had backfired." the guard replied in a sooth voice. Even though he knew that one wrong word could have him dead, he still talked without any fear. Giovanni wondered how this was even possible…

"Well, go bring him back. I don't want any more attention than we already have," Giovanni replied sternly. The soldier grunted and then the communication went dead. "Oh Red… you better have a very, very good reason for doing this…" he thought to himself as grunts assembled.

**Location: Above Alto Mare**

"Where is he?" Blu thought to himself as he psychically scanned every person he saw as he was flying through the air. How in the world was he supposed to find one person in an entire city?

"_Look for a Pikachu,_" the voice reappeared in his voice. It only did for a second before abruptly cutting off once again. Blu sighed as he flew in closer, his invisibility covering up his body. Apparently, everything that he carried had turned invisible when he did, including the boxy satchel. How was all of this planned? Blu shivered at this thought as he continued his search.

"Let's keep moving, Pikachu! We've got to find her!" shouted a small voice. It was very distant but recognizable. This required further recon. Blu tucked in his forearms and flew towards the source of the voice.

…

"Ash! Wait… up!" Bianca panted as she struggled to keep up with the young trainer. The moment they had pieced together the situation, Bianca, Ash, and Pikachu all headed towards the port. They had heard rumors of some very large ships exiting from there. None of them were licensed.

She panted as she tried running faster. Ash had very good stamina as he had traveled to many different regions already. She only made daily trips to the local market to fetch supplies for Latias and Lorenzo. They were all about to reach the end of the alley way when Pikachu sensed a very familiar breeze…

…

Blu hovered about ten feet above the group. He cocked his head to his side as he did a quick psychic scan of their history on each one of them. They all seemed nice and had relations to the legendary Pokémon guardians he had heard of. All that attracted his attention, however, was the Pokémon trainer was named Ash and his Pikachu. If this was who the voice was talking about, he would have to speak to them…

…

Pikachu abruptly stopped and twitched his ears up in the air, listening for something. "Is something up buddy?" Ash asked. In a few moments, Bianca had finally caught up to them, panting crazily. They were just nearing the end of the alleyway. A few steps further and they would be in the main canal. "Pika…" Pikachu replied sadly. He thought that he had felt the breeze of Latios going by. Memories lingered for too long.

All of a sudden, the group of three turned around to see a bright sparkle of blue light, leaving behind a somewhat small eon Pokémon.


	11. Help

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

Author's notes: From this point foward, my chapters will be about this length, maybe even longer. It might take me some more time to write and publish, but enjoy the next few chapters!

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 11- Help**

* * *

Blu gulped as the two humans and one Pokémon stared at him. This was the first time he had seen somebody friendly other than Sky. He just didn't know how to act.

"H-hi…" Blu managed to coo out. Bianca looked over the Latios once again. She noted some very distinct features, including his short height and the fact he was carrying a satchel. This was, sadly, not the one that she grew up with. Her face grew grim, but she didn't say anything. Ash and Pikachu had both realized the same things but decided to be friendly.

When Ash stepped closer, the Latios levitated back quite a distance. Pikachu ran up to him and started to talk with Blu. He was startled at first but finally managed to reply to his questions.

"Who are you?" Pikachu asked.

"I'm Blu. I need some help rescuing a friend," Blu replied in a series of coos. He was still getting used to his Pokémon voice.

As the two continued chatting, Ash looked towards Bianca so see her reaction. Tears fell from her eyes as old memories came back to her. Memories of her child hood living with the legendary Pokémon. She had already lost one of them. Now, she was losing another member of her family.

Blu sensed this and flew over to her, nuzzling his snout against her neck while making soft and depressed cooing noises. He didn't know why, but it just felt right. Bianca was comforted by it and finally mustered enough courage to ask Blu a question. "So, why are you here?" Bianca asked.

Her response was met with a flash of blue light, leaving behind a 12 year old human wearing a blue hoodie/ jacket hybrid. His pants were mainly blue with white triangles over lapping it. His shoes were any ordinary white tennis shoes. From the backside, Pikachu noted a strange white triangle with its point facing up… it seemed to radiate with a strong power. It looked like the small emblem on the front of a Latios, except this was much bigger. And white.

"Well, you see-" Blu started to say before he was cut off.

"YOU TALK!?" Ash, Bianca, and Pikachu all shouted at the same time. Bianca shook her head in awe. Latios and Latias both managed to get the shape shifting right but were never able to speak. There was something special with this one…

"Yea? So?" Blu replied indifferently. Ash did a double take. All the Pokémon he had heard talking were usually legendaries and only they used telepathy! How was he able to talk like a real human?

Blu did a quick scan through their thoughts and face palmed. "Look. Ash. My father needs help-" he started once again only to be cut off (once again) by a mechanical voice coming from his satchel. After some searching, he found that it was the half pair of glasses.

"Time unit recognized. Operating…" the glasses beeped. All of a sudden, a bright light appeared. Then everything went black.

…

_"Get up and try again!" a voice shouted from seemingly nowhere._

Blu took his time to regain his surroundings. Ash, Bianca, and Pikachu were all with him. They seemed to be in a blue bubble, watching something… it didn't take long for him to figure out.

_The child struggled to pick himself off the forest grass. Every single muscle in his body was aching and his entire uniform was filled with scratches and blood stains. Nevertheless, he got up and continued his practice. He tried to get in close for an uppercut, but the older man simply grabbed it and shoved his face down into the ground. Hard._

Whatever the glasses had activated, Blu realized that they were watching through his memories. He quickly explained his theory to the rest of the group after seeing their panicked expressions.

"_Hmm… it's just like sight sharing but into the past…_" Bianca thought to herself as they watched through Blu's eyes.

They watched through what he had been through the past day in silence. Only his dream wasn't shared. Thoughts and words were also muted so Blu provided commentary whenever he needed to. When it finished, they found themselves back in the alleyway. Not a single second had passed. It did take a minute for the group to readjust themselves to reality.

"So… I guess that's my story. I need help rescuing my fa- er… friend," Blu said awkwardly.

"Don't worry. We'll help. If those were the same people that took Latias, we really have no choice," Ash jumped in. Blu was just about to ask them about their history when they heard a voice shouting through a megaphone.

"You are under arrest for trespassing Alto Mare waters!" Officer Jenny shouted at the platoon of boats leaving the port. Several smaller police boats had already been dispatched to try to intercept them. Currently, however, they weren't doing too well as the smallest even Team Rocket ships dwarfed them. All were except the several speed boats that were already speeding away with the police in pursuit. However, the police boats weren't made to travel too far and would soon run out of fuel.

The group stepped out from the alleyway to see what the commotion was. Ash and Pikachu immediately recognized the large "R" painted onto the hull of each ship. "That's Team Rocket!" Ash quietly hissed into Bianca's ear. He didn't want to panic everyone at the port. Blu growled at the name. It took him very little time to piece that in this world, there were good people and bad people. He wondered if the same concept applied to Pokémon too…

"Calm down, Blu," Bianca said softly as she started stroking Blu's back. The currently disguised Latios stepped away several steps in alarm and surprise. She frowned at this. Latios and Latias usually liked to be petted on the back, even in human form.

_'Well… plan?_' Blu's voice popped up in their heads. Telepathy again. Blu just didn't feel comfortable talking in a crowd of so many strangers.

'_I don't know… maybe we should get Misty and Brock. Bianca, I guess you could go and alert Lorenzo. We'll meet up in the Secret Garden,_' Ash thought back. Telepathy was nice as it linked everyone's thoughts together. It was incredibly tiring though. Bianca simply nodded and took off back into the alleyway maze. "Wait, which way was the Pokémon center again?" Ash asked out loud. Pikachu face faulted. Why did he always get lost with his trainer?

"Follow me," Blu replied as he headed off in a decent jogging pace. Ash and Pikachu were both shortly behind. Even though he was in front, he decided his best bet was to follow his new "friends", as Sky would call them.

Once they got to the Pokémon center, Nurse Joy raised an eye brow. "Hmm… I didn't see you leave," she said to Blu.

"Ah… I just forgot to get some last minute supplies. I ran out of food and it was quite early in the morning," Blu lied quickly. "Are you sure you didn't see me leave?" Nurse Joy thought of it a little longer before deciding to disregard the thought. Blu was checking out with his Pokédex (much to the other two's surprise) while Ash and Pikachu went into Room 5 to wake up their friends.

While they were doing that, Blu sat down and decided to rummage through his things. He first pulled out his glasses and then laptop. He opened up the laptop and tried turning it on, but the screen stayed black. He frowned and pushed it away onto a seat next to him. After everything he had seen, Blu didn't think that the laptop was useless. There had to be some way to turn it on.

He then inspected the eyeglasses. Half of it was there, half of it was gone. After some tinkering, Blu found that there was a small antenna that stuck out from the temples. Also, there was also the fact that there wasn't even a lens in the frame. In fact, the frame made an in the shape of a trapezoid that connected nosepiece to the hinges. It seemed to be meant for the right eye. There was nothing under the frame to help support it. Blu frowned but didn't have much time to think as Ash and his friends were coming. He quickly packed up and headed with them to the Secret Garden.

"_One way or another, I will rescue you… dad,_" Blu thought to himself as he joined the group.


	12. Recapture

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 12- Recapture**

* * *

"Is it just me, or is that kid following us?" Brock questioned. Ash was leading the way as he was the only one that had actually been into the Secret Garden, followed behind by Misty, Brock, and finally Blu (in that order). Pikachu was sitting on Ash's shoulder just in case he made a wrong turn.

Ash looked back and saw nothing. He frowned but shrugged it off and kept walking forward. "I don't see anything," he commented. He knew that the Latios was following them but decided to let them figure it out

Brock whipped around to see that there was, in fact, a kid following them. He faced forward again. "Misty! Turn around!" Brock shouted. She sighed and the both turned around to see… nothing.

"Even Ash is right this time. There is nothing," Misty deadpanned. When she finished her sentence, she continued walking forward.

Brock whipped his head towards the front, sparring only one second to turn around again to see the kid was his face. He shrieked and jumped into Misty's arms.

"Get off me you pervert!" she shouted before smashing him with her mallet straight into the canal. Blu couldn't help laughing while the rest of the group was looking at Brock, who was currently flailing his arms wildly. Blu decided to spare him the embarrassment and unrolled some rope for him to grab on. Misty traced the rope back to the source and found that there was indeed a kid there.

Misty looked at him once and then blinked again. He wasn't there anymore. She blinked once more. He reappeared. "Eek! A ghost!" she screamed before proceeding to bash Blu into the canal, disregarding the fact that you can't hit a ghost with a mallet. At least they were in a small and minor canal and no one was nearby.

Blu groaned as he climbed out of the canal. Sky had tested him with physical pain but seemed to completely forget to train him with mind scrambling weapons. Brock had just climbed out, with Blu following him. He stood up and rolled up the rope, putting it back into his satchel.

By this time, Ash had turned around to see a very frightened Misty and a drenched Blu and Brock sitting down next to the wall. "No Misty, he's not a ghost. Yes he's following us. I'll explain it to you once we get to our location," Ash deadpanned. He didn't want to mention the Secret Garden even if there was no one around. Inwardly, he chuckled at the situation. He continued off into that direction. The others, not wanting to be left behind, quickly hurried after him. Brock took occasional glances backwards to make sure the kid was staying visible.

Once they reached the end of the alleyway, Ash stopped hurrying and moved his hands around the wall. Once he found the illusion, he quickly moved in, followed by Misty and Brock. Blu frowned upon this. An illusion to cover something… it felt too familiar. He quickly disregarded the feeling and hurried through to meet up with the rest. The sight took his breath away.

Trees stood tall as sunlight gleamed through their delicate branches. Soft and paved roads crisscrossed each other on the small fields. Occasional lakes spotted the area with the sound of trickling water flowing into them.

"ASH! Who is that?" a low voice bellowed through the garden. Blu turned to see that the group along with Bianca and some workman were standing behind a pedestal. Wait… Blu remembered one of Sky's story about that there was a pedestal held the Soul Dew. One glance and he knew that it was missing. He knew what to do…

Lorenzo was surprised then the boy dashed towards him. He frowned and just before Blu could reach the pedestal, grabbed his hoodie and lifted him high up above the pool that surrounded the soul dew pedestal.

"_Lorenzo,_" the voice flashed again in Blu's mind. Somehow, he seemed familiar and friendly. That didn't stop him from struggling against him since he was about to be dropped into a pool from quite high up. His jacket had just dried!

"No! Grandpa, put him down!" Bianca demanded.

"Why should I?" Lorenzo asked. After what had happened to Latios before, he had become even more protective with his family and even more against strangers.

"DO. IT. NOW," she shouted. Lorenzo was baffled. Bianca never used that type of attitude unless it was something important. He reluctantly agreed and set Blu back on solid ground but kept a hard stare at him. Blu stared back.

Before anyone could do anything, Blu was standing in front of the pedestal, white aura coming out from his hands. "Stand back!" he shouted. Everyone backed off except Lorenzo. Bianca sighed and tugged him to where the rest of the group was standing. Blu put his hands closer together as a solid sphere started forming.

"_Just a little more…_" he thought to himself as even more energy was concentrated into his hand. He couldn't feel his legs anymore.

"What is he doing?" Lorenzo shouted over a loud burst of energy.

"I don't know!" Ash shouted back.

"Why do you trust him so much!?" Lorenzo demanded.

"I'll tell you a little later Grandpa!" Bianca shouted back.

The wind speed picked up, and a shield, not unlike the Latias had made, started forming around him. The shield soon became opaque so no one could see anything happening inside. A long moment later, the wind and shield died down. A tired Blu was leaning against the edge of the pedestal. Inside the pedestal… was the Soul Dew. Water went from still to flooding out of the pool. Lorenzo had never seen such force... only ever since the eon duo's father had become the Soul Dew…

Blu sighed as he leaned against pedestal, his job done. He felt his consciousness start to slip away. Bianca saw this tiredness and quickly hurried over to check up on him. His heartbeat started to slow down… and kept dropping. Bianca's eyes widened.

"Ash! His heart is stopping!" she exclaimed. Ash barely had any time to react when Pikachu thunder bolted Blu. The initial shock made him blink sleepily several times before standing up. Lorenzo frowned at this. That much energy should've jolted anyone right out of that situation. Ash and Brock supported the sleepy Blu onto a bench.

"Alright… someone mind telling me what in the world had just happened?" Lorenzo asked, finally breaking the silence. Everyone except Blu shrugged. Lorenzo turned his attention to him.

"Well, my master, well father, had told me many stories about this place," Blu started. "He said that the city was protected by a Latios who had given his life to bring water to the city, leaving behind the soul dew. He gave me specific instructions on what to do if it was missing,"

Lorenzo kept staring at him. He was sure that no human was able to just create a new soul dew. "What is your name?" he questioned.

"Blu," Blu replied.

"Where do you live?" asked Lorenzo

"Atios Island. It's a small place not far from here," Blu replied casually. Lorenzo choked while Bianca was confused. There was no island off of Alto Mare.

"Who… who is your master?" Lorenzo finally managed to say. Blu frowned at this as he was supposed to keep that a secret. However, the voice kept urging him to say it.

"Sky. My master is Sky," Blu replied after a moment. Lorenzo choked even more as tears started to form. Brock and Misty looked confused. He was a human. How did he have a master?

"Turn into you other form. Now," Lorenzo demanded. Blu was shocked. How did he know? He wanted to avoid it but the voice kept pestering him to do so.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Blu stammered, desperately trying to figure out a way to get out from this situation.

"Turn into your other form now," Lorenzo demanded.

A sickening click was heard. "Yes, I do advise you to do so," said a voice. Everyone whirled around in surprise (except Lorenzo) to see the guard Blu had battled before, along with his friend/ partner (the dark blue shade one). Both of them had the Team Rocket emblem on their shoulder pad, and both were carrying assault rifles.

"Turn into your other form and we promise not to hurt your friends," the blue guard ordered.

Blu growled. In response, the green guard fired a bullet, leaving quite a hole in the wall just behind them. The currently disguised Latios gulped. He didn't want anyone getting hurt, but he didn't want to get hurt either… but he had no other choice.

Blu sighed and transformed. Brock and Misty gasped while Lorenzo groaned as he sat down. Inside their masks, the guards smiled. "Alright Giovanni. You see him. Now fire away," the green one said. Giovanni smiled behind his desk and ordered his command

Instantly, dozens of troops in a black version of the armor filed in, carrying the same weapons. They were surrounded. They had no place to go. All of a sudden, Blu's glasses started beeping again. "Friendly units detected. Dispatching…" it said once again. Blu looked back at the rest of the group with an uncertain glance, who were just as confused as he was.

He turned back around to see the 2 colored guards dropping their weapons and moaning with pain as electricity crackled through their bodies. The green one managed to stand up as he painfully climbed up the stairs towards Blu. The troops obviously saw how slow this was going and offered to help

"Sir, do you want us to-" one of them offered.

"No, he's mine," the green guard growled. Blu looked into his mask. Why did he fear him and admire him at the same time? Why did he feel so… familiar?

"Blu! Move! Don't get captured!" Ash shouted. Blu, however, was still lost in his mind, trying to figure out who the guard was. By the time he snapped back to reality, however, the guard had already advanced right next to him. He tried flying away but the guard quickly put his arm around Blu's neck and started strangling him. Blu tried to move his tail fins to no avail and then tried clawing at the guard. That didn't work either as they were too small. He didn't have time to think as he fainted from the lack of air.

Once the captive was unconscious, the green guard strapped him onto his back and stood up. The electricity had already ceased. "Alright. We have him. Let's leave," the blue guard ordered.

"But sir-" one of them started.

"That's an order!" he commanded. He turned back towards Ash's group. "Don't follow us," he growled. In a painfully bright flash, the secret garden was just as before, just rid of the invaders and their captive. Lorenzo sighed once more as a lingering thought came into his mind. Today, a Soul Dew would be created.


	13. Surprises

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 13- Surprises**

* * *

Lorenzo sighed as he got up and headed toward his workshop. This got Bianca into a fit.

"Well? Aren't you coming to help us rescue him?" she asked.

"I won't," he simply said. Bianca stood there, shocked.

"You've cared for Latios and Latias. We befriended this new eon and you simply disregard him!?" she shouted.

"Bianca. You don't understand. It's that-" Lorenzo explained.

"You're right. I don't understand," Bianca ranted.

"Now listen here young lady. I know what I'm doing!" Lorenzo retaliated. Bianca grimaced. She was starting to have a different opinion on her grandfather.

Lorenzo sighed when he saw the hurt faces on the others. "Follow me," he ordered as he headed off in the same direction. Bianca and the others frowned but followed anyways. Inside the workshop, Lorenzo stopped in front of an ordinary piece of wall.

"Well?" Bianca asked. Lorenzo simply tapped the wall twice and it opened up to reveal a control panel. He typed on several blank keys and the wall opened up again to reveal a seat and a very complex computer system. Lorenzo sat down and a series of code started popping up. Bianca look towards the keyboard and was surprised to see only two keys. Lorenzo was intently pressing each one of them in rapid succession. She sighed and motioned the others to sit down. This was going to take a while.

**Location: Convoy on route to Rocket base**

Blu awoke in his Lati form and with several grunts taunting him. He growled, but the grunts just laughed. One of them put his face in front of his cage and told him several lines of speech that made his heart sink.

"Listen. We're a lot closer to Rocket base than you think. The convoy you saw back there was simply an illusion. Substitute, I guess you Pokémon would call it," he told him. As if on cue, a small voice appeared over the voice box.

"We have arrived at our destination," it said. "Prepare specimens for unloading." With a giant creaking noise, Blu felt his cage being lifted on a mechanical machine and start moving him out of the ship into a truck.

"Sweet dreams. You are now your way to the reverse world," the guard said one last time before the truck door closed.

**Back at the workshop…**

Bianca groaned. This was taking too long. The ships had probably already left by now. Every single one of them wanted to hurry to save the eon Pokémon from Team Rocket, but stubborn Lorenzo had held them in the workshop.

A bored Ash flipped through the channels on the TV, looking for something good.

"…the brand new toy has come to… take it back!... reports about the convoy… and this is how you draw…" were just several phrases the TV spewed out. One of them caught Bianca's attention as she suddenly snatched the remote away and flicked back several channels.

She stopped at the news channel, which showed a news reporter in front of the convoy of ships that the group was about to check on earlier.

"…see here, the entire convoy that was supposedly leaving was found to be entirely deserted. No one, I repeat, no one is aboard these ships. Officer Jenny was contacting with her associates and figured that these ships belong to Team Rocket, a criminal organization that…" the reporter rambled on.

Ash groaned and put his hands into his face. Almost all his hopes were dashed. How were they ever going to find them now?

A sudden explosion rippled through the canals as the TV went black.

**Location: Unknown-Rocket Base-Pokémon Pincher 59th Division**

Blu felt the truck come to a stop and heard several voices talking to each other from the outside. He decided the best thing to do was to turn invisible. A small flash occurred as he turned into a human again and another to invisible. He crouched low as the men opened up the back of the truck.

"Hey! There's no on here! Are you sure we were carrying anything?" one of the grunts asked. The other was a higher commanding officer and knew what he was dealing with. He simply sighed and pressed a button, electrocuting the cage. Blu groaned as his invisibility fell.

The other grunt blinked. "Why are we transporting an invisible boy?" he asked once again. The officer simply facepalmed and shocked Blu again, reverting him back to his Lati form.

Blu was still groaning and soon fainted as the two men carried him off towards the base.

**Location: Lorenzo's workshop**

"What was that!?" Ash shouted over the explosion. Pikachu jumped up and headed towards the window.

"The ships blew up," Lorenzo said, not sparring even a second to look up from the screen. The rest of the group looked baffled. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go and help them!"

Ash, Misty, and Brock were quick to leave. Bianca shot Lorenzo an uncertain look before heading off. "_I hope you know what you're doing…_" she thought to herself.

**Location: Celestial Heavens**

Uxie looked up from the ground. He knew that things were happening. He had seen what was going on. He knew what would happen… most of it. This alarmed him as he flew off to tell his fellow legendaries. Perhaps their father would finally need to be woken for this emergency…


	14. Hello There!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

Author's note: I'm really really sorry for not uploading this stuff earlier. I've been trying to plan out several future chapters so they will all fit into the story perfectly. Well, go ahead and enjoy the next three chapters!

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 14- Hello There!**

* * *

**Location: Celestial Heavens**

Uxie hurried to where his siblings were fooling around. "I have something important to announce," he whispered to them. They quickly followed him over to where all the other legendaries were chatting.

The Celestial Heavens is the closest place one could reach to Arceus without having him to come to Earth or in a more important fact, wake up. The Celestial Heavens wasn't exactly real but more of a place of mind. It was semi-physical, connecting the minds of every legendary Pokémon. This area of connection was located in The Light, the dimension where Arceus rested. Since no one had a physical state, damage couldn't be done.

One by one, each legendary turned their heads towards Uxie. He had been moping around for the past few days, doing nothing in particular.

"There's been something that I'm quite concerned with," he started. Several murmurs could be heard from the crowd. "I've sensed quite a strong energy source in the Hoenn. Problem is, I don't know what it is," Alarmed looks came from the crowd.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Lugia questioned. Uxie was the Knowledge Pokémon. Only Arceus was more omniscient than him.

"All I can say is that there is a large power surge coming from that area…" Uxie continued. He shook his head several times. "One more thing… two members will be joining the legendary council by the end of today,"

Mewtwo and Deoxys frowned at this. They had been the most recent and even that had been some time ago. Who could be these new ones? Why didn't Uxie know anything about the situation?

"Do you have any other information?" Mewtwo asked.

"Yes. The surge seems to be coming from Atios and Atias Island, small pieces of land off of Alto Mare," Uxie replied blandly. Lugia frowned at this. There were no islands off of Alto Mare… and that's where Latias and Latios lived… wait.

"Hold on, isn't Ash in Alto Mare too?" Lugia asked with concern. Uxie nodded and turned around to leave… only to whip around again. If his eyes could open, the other legendaries would've seen it filled with despair.

"Oh no… this isn't good," he whispered.

**Location: Alto Mare**

Charred embers flew through the air as Ash, Bianca, Brock, and Misty all ran towards the main canal. There, they could see Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy running about, tending the wounded. Surprisingly enough, Brock didn't even try to flirt with any of them. A small Squirtle brigade was working on putting out the fire on the decoy ships. Despite all the water near the port, the fire kept spreading.

Ash quickly threw his Pokéball to release Totodile, who quickly saw what was going on and went to go help. Bianca just stood there. First her family was broken, now her home city? She quickly snapped out of it and helped the others carry the survivors back to the Pokémon center.

While his friends were helping Nurse Joy, Ash was trying to help with Officer Jenny to put out the fires, despite her protests (she didn't want anyone else hurt). The water didn't seem to be putting out the fires, but instead seemed to be helping it. Soon, a raging inferno rose above the city.

"Why isn't it working?" Officer Jenny cried. Ash didn't have any time to respond as another explosion sounded from a near building. The inferno had already burned the entire port area. The situation didn't look like it would improve anytime soon. Not until the entire city was burned.

Ash wondered where he was for a moment. Why did things look all hazy all of a sudden? Why couldn't he breathe? He opened his mouth only for a lungful of smoke to rush inside. He stumbled, desperately trying to find his way out. He took another step into… nothing and plunged straight into the ocean.

**Location: Atias Island-Rocket Base-Pokémon Pincher 59****th**** Division**

Blu blinked somewhat groggily as he awoke. He tried sitting up to figure out his surroundings. Currently, that was a cage somewhere along the long hallways in the Rocket base. He looked down at his human body. He figured that was his current default storm and decided to check his items next. He still had everything… it was just invisible. He sighed at the annoyance with the cloaking mechanism. He found enough space to stand up and stretch a little.

He was in your typical prison cage area, except that everything in the area seemed more high tech. Red lines etched through the black walls, seeming to lead blazing energy to somewhere… it looked a lot like the secret closet area back home.

His thoughts were interrupted by a small squeak coming from the corner of the room. He quickly turned around to see… nothing. Blu frowned. He swore he had heard something or someone. He sighed and sat down, trying to cope with what had happened the past few hours. His home had been destroyed, his "father" captured, met with some total strangers named Bianca, Ash, and Lorenzo, and then…

"_Wait, you met them?_" a small voice asked. Blu jumped up and stood in the fighting stance Sky had always taught him about. His eyes scanned the room and still saw nothing. He frowned. This time he was certain someone had used telepath to him.

"Oi! You kid! Who do you think you are, a human or a Pokémon?" taunted one of the guards as they made their daily patrol through the prisons. His partner snickered. The 3rd guard, the green one Blu had met many times already, stood there with his arms crossed, showing no emotion at all. His mask turned towards Blu. He felt another wave of emotions rush through his body once more.

'_Wait for the right time,_' a voice similar, but not exact, to Sky's sounded through his head. After that simple phrase, the guard simply walked off, along with the others.

Blu was confused but decided to worry about everything later. Right now, he needed to escape. He sat down and took off his invisible satchel, trying to find the uncloaking mechanism. As he worked, he thought he felt something feathery brush up against him but disregarded it, paying all his attention trying to work. He grabbed what seemed to be a wire and tugged at it several times. After it held steady, Blu decided that there was no harm in trying to yank it. He forcefully pulled on it, freeing it from the satchel and uncloaking it. In doing so, it also released a massive cloud of smoke.

Blu coughed and waved his hand in front of his face several times, trying to get some clean air. After it cleared, he groaned and sat up, only to be met face to face with a red and white feathered dragon.


	15. A Red Eon

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 15- A Red Eon**

* * *

**Location: Atias Island-Rocket Base-Pokémon Pincher 59****th**** Division**

Blu blinked. Latias blinked. Blu blinked again and scooted away. Latias floated closer.

"You do know I can see you, right?" he asked. Latias looked down to see that she was, indeed, visible. She had lost her concentration during the smoke blast. She squealed and quickly cloaked, before hiding somewhere. Blu groaned and shook his head. He had better things to do right now.

He pulled out his laptop and his glasses. He knew that the two were connected in some way so he decided first thing to do was figure out how to turn them on. He pulled out the two items and started searching through the bag for other items. Why did the number of items seem to increase again?

He pulled out a Pokédex, several pokéballs, and a long, and a rolled up line of cable wire. He set the poké-items aside and turned around to see that the entire item set he had set there a minute ago was gone. Both the laptop and glasses were floating in the middle of the air.

"Latias, I don't know who you are, but I need those things back," Blu told Latias.

'_Not until you tell me your encounter with my friends,_' Latias replied stubbornly. Blu groaned and put his hand up to his head. He didn't have time for a dragon with an attitude.

"Fine," Blu finally gave in and told his encounter with her family. Latias giggled and lost her invisibility again when Blu mentioned him scaring Brock. He decided to leave out the part where he was a Latios. He wasn't sure that now was a good time to mention that.

'_Oh alright. Here you go. We better find a way out of here and fast,_' Latias simply said before tossing the devices down to Blu. He quickly sat down, legs crossed, with the computer open to him. He also put his glasses on and noticed a faint screen of gray light. He frowned and tried to turn the computer on again, failing as he did so. Latias floated over next to him and poked at a small hole in the thick temples. Blu was annoyed at this but quickly found an idea from this. He pulled out the cord and stuck one end into his glasses and the other into the laptop. He gave a smile of appreciation as the computer screen loaded up.

'_So who gave this to you?_' Latias asked.

"A friend," Blu replied. He didn't feel that he could trust the dragon yet. He still had to decide on Pokémon moral…

He tried tapping the computer several times to see if the loading screen would hurry up. Suddenly, a bright blue flash emerged as his glasses as the screen went online and lines of light blue data started scrolling across it. The entire screen seemed to be holographic. A green laser shot out from the hinge. "Well, that's a start," he thought. The computer had also started up and showing data. Problem was, both of the data seemed to be in an… alien… language. Latias took a peek and was reminded of Deoxys. It'd been a long time since she had seen him. In fact, it had been a very long time since she had met up with any of them. It had been even longer since she had been in the last meeting in the Celestial Heavens.

'_I might have a friend that can read that,_' she told Blu. He simply nodded and packed his things up. Latias started wondering more about who had given that laptop to him while Blu wondered who Latias's friend was.

He hauled his satchel over and stood up, trying to figure out another way to get out of this cage.

**Location: Port of Alto Mare**

Ash swung his arms, desperate to try to grab onto any ledge he could. He knew he was sinking into the deep, cold ocean. He felt the waves gently pushing him deeper and deeper into the sea. It felt relaxing but in the situation he was in right now, he was panicking. He tried opening his eyes but the oil had poisoned the water and made any visibility impossible. His entire body felt that it was stinging. Ash felt his air supply start to drain and his consciousness slipping…

Back on land, the gang waited anxiously for Ash to resurface. Totodile had tried jumping into the water several times but came out with severe burns due to an oil fire occurring somewhere just under the waves. It didn't reassure anyone. By this time, the buildings closest to the port had already burned down and everyone had been forced to retreat inland where the smoke wasn't as bad. Everyone was hoping for someone's life that day.

Just near the city, a Pokémon decided it was finally time for her to do something.

**Location: Atias Island- Rocket base**

'_I see something that is red and-_' Latias started.

"You," Blu replied as he started fiddling with a pokéball. He wondered if he could catch himself in it.

'_Well, I see something blue,_' Latias persisted. She wasn't going to let him win the entire game to himself.

"Me," Blu replied in a monotone voice. He was running out of things to do. Just how much longer until the green guard came around to explain what he had told him earlier? He checked his watch again. It read 9:00 A.M.

Bored and with nothing else to do, he pulled out his Pokédex and tried to scan Latias. She was also curious and tried peaking over at the screen again. "No data available," it read. Blu frowned and tried scanning a Nidoking in a prison cell across from theirs. "No data available," the Pokédex beeped again in a monotone voice. There had to be some function. Everything else did, albeit not always too helpful. He had started fiddling with the pokéballs when the glasses beeped again. "Sight sharing- access accepted. Granting permission…" it beeped. Blu had a bad feeling about what was soon to happen as a blue bubble started to emerge and encase both him and Latias.

…

Darkness. Emptiness. Blu and Latias both blinked their eyes several times, trying to get a more clear vision. They found themselves in the blue bubble that appeared every time during sight sharing. Blu had already gotten used to it from his memory sharing and Latias from her experiences with her brother. They both were surprised, however, that they were in this situation. Just who was doing this?

'_What's going on over here?_' someone asked. Blu jumped but then realized it was coming from the eon that was providing the sight sharing. The black shade around them started clearing and they both started to see what was going on. From then on, it was evident that the eon Pokémon was in the sea. The event, however, wasn't pretty.

Burning wreckage sunk to the bottom of the sea as screams echoed from above. Shouts over the megaphone could be barely heard under the deep water. Blu shot a look over at Latias to see if she knew what was happening. All he saw were her large eyes. "No… this can't be… Alto Mare? My hometown? What happened?" she wondered.

The eon Pokémon they were seeing from was equally startled and started to swim away when it saw something near the port. Whatever it was, it was sinking fast. It realized it was alive and trying to struggle out of the water. However, right now, that creature wasn't making and progress. The eon realized that if nothing was done, he would die. With a small psychic push, it lifted the creature back onto the port and swam away into the dark ocean.

…

"Ash? Ash!" Misty yelled. Ash coughed and sputtered as he blinked several times, trying to get the salty sea water from his eyes. He took another look at his surroundings and realized that he and the gang were back in Lorenzo's workshop. He started asking himself what had happened when Misty and Pikachu hugged him. They thought they had lost him. Ash thought that he would've died. He should've died, yet he lived. He smiled as a random image of an unfamiliar red eon Pokémon filled his mind. It was the last thing he remembered in the sea before he fainted.

"What do we do about the fire? It's consumed nearly a fourth of the town!" Bianca cried. Lorenzo didn't even bother turning his head to acknowledge her. He kept typing on an even more advanced keyboard, not paying any attention to the world around him. He already knew what was going to happen. Bianca growled and tried to take the keyboard away, but Lorenzo simply slapped her hand away. She eventually gave up and sat down with the others.

"I don't know…" Ash replied. The fire didn't look as if they would stop anytime soon and the officers had already started evacuating people onto ships and whatever friendly Pokémon that decided to help out.

Suddenly, a massive water spout shot out of the canal, wetting the entire city. Several more shot out through the canals. After each and every vertical whirlpool attack, the fires diminished significantly. After several more minutes, the whirlpool attacks and fires both stopped. All the citizens of Alto Mare cheered, knowing their city was safe. Bianca stood startled for a moment before cheering with the rest. Ash smiled and returned Totodile as he remembered the one Pokémon that had helped put out that fire. The only one who could create such large down pours.

…

Lugia sighed as he swam through the ocean. He hoped never to have to be called on to help put out a fire. He had come only because he had been notified by Uxie. He then had to swim for quite a long time from the Orange Islands just to reach Alto Mare. Exhausted, he sighed and continued swimming back toward the direction of his home, while at the same time, hoping that the three Legendary birds hadn't started bickering again. Unbeknownst to him, there had been another Pokémon that had helped him put out the fire. A familiar red eon shot a glance over at him before swimming off into a different direction.


	16. Rei's Story

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 16- Rei's Story**

* * *

**Location: Somewhere on Atias Island**

Rei was not a happy dragoness… at all. First of all, her father left her to work on some sort of secret project again. Then, she saw an entire city burning on her first day of sneaking out of the house. She wondered what other things she would find outside of the cabin. The Latias sighed as she floated around the living room, desperately trying to find something to do. The house had no electronics other than lights and cooking tools. There was also some sort of secret door that her master had told her never to enter. Knowing better, she never did, although she did have her suspicions.

Today, she was running out of things to do. Her master was supposed to come back by now and start playing and taking care of her. She remembered only 5 years of her life. All of it had been of her master raising and taking care of her. During the last 2 years, however, he had been gone most of the time to work on something top secret. She sighed as she drew her claw along the wall. "Maybe it's time to see what is behind that door," she wondered as she floated closer toward the secret vault. "It's time to show me what you're hiding, Red Eyes."

**Location: Atias Island-Rocket Base-Pokémon Pincher 59****th**** Division-Prison Cell 51**

Blu watched in amusement at Latias as she manipulated her psychic powers at a bouncy ball he had found from his satchel. It was the only thing that kept them occupied during the last thirty minutes since the sight sharing. The only fun thing that Latias liked with the bouncy ball, however, was chucking it at the ground just to see where it would bounce too. Blu had declared that the room was now filled with a live projectile, which made both of them chuckle. He didn't specify if that projectile was the ball or the high speed Latias as she desperately tried to keep up with it in the large prison cell. Their fun was quickly interrupted by something much darker.

Several metallic sounds vibrated through the cell as the guard tapped the bars. Blu quickly packed up his things and turned his attention to the noise. The bouncy ball had been dropped and rolled lifelessly around the ground. The thrower had already turned invisible and was once again hiding in a corner. Blu grimaced as he saw who he was looking at.

Just on the other side stood the two mercenaries/ colored guards who seemed to be ready for war. They were carrying many weapons, including a rocket launcher, grenades, and a tactical computer. Accompanying them were Annie and Oakley and their Pokémon.

"Both of you will accompany us with no problems," the blue mercenary spoke up. "If you resist, you will be shot dead. Boss's orders." Annie and Oakley both shivered at the thought and took several steps back. The green guard then kneeled and started unlocking the complex cell as the blue one pulled out his side arms and aimed them, ready to shoot if any of them did anything unusual. Once the cell door opened, the green guard escorted Blu out by rifle point. After Blu was out, the blue guard stepped in as one of his eyeholes turned from green to red. The light scanned the entire room, dropping Latias's invisibility. She let out a small shrill of surprise as she uncurled from her hiding place. She was soon escorted out of the cell by rifle point. Annie and Oakley led the way down the hallway, followed by their Pokémon, then Latias and Blu, and finally the guards.

After many steps down the dark, red illuminated hallway, the group came across a futuristic door that seemed to be powered by the red energy that flowed throughout the building. The green guard stopped pointing the rifle at Blu for just a second to punch the red circle in the middle of the door. A massive dent appeared in the metal as the two parts of the door slide open sideways to reveal the content inside.

"You're dismissed," the green guard told Annie and Oakley. It took them a second to snap out of the awe of the destruction. They quickly fled the hallway with the Pokémon, happy that their job with the mercenaries was done.

Inside was simply a dark room with several data monitors. In one corner held a large tube filled with a green transparent liquid. Inside the tube was a Pokémon. On the other side of the room sat a depressed man. Blu quickly recognized the trapped Pokémon as his master Sky. The man was recognized by someone else.

**5 minutes ago…**

Rei was in awe. Through the door was an entire underground hallway! She saw red lines of energy flowing along the black walls and decided to follow them. At the end was an elevator and a small closet containing female rocket grunt suits. She smiled mischievously as she disguised as her human form and added the new suit to her disguise. Her adventure had just begun.

When Rei entered the elevator, she found only one button. She pushed it and the elevator began its noisy journey uphill. At the top, she stepped out into another hallway and spotted many prison cells held with miserable Pokémon, they're expressions tortured from years…perhaps even decades of the boredom and torture of imprisonment. She gasped in horror. Was this the project Red Eyes had worked on? She ran with tears flowing through her eyes the opposite direction. She felt the beat of her footsteps hitting the cold, tile floors, but felt disgusted at the seemingly endless melancholy that vibrated from each cell. She didn't want to believe it. The man that had cared for her entire life couldn't be this cruel. Could he? She kept running until she ran into someone…

**Present time: 9:35 AM**

"Dad!" was all the time Blu had to shout before something ran into him. Blu lost his balance and crashed into the blue guard, causing him to spill all his ammunition. Blu groaned and took a quick peek at the person that had run into him. She was a twelve year old girl wearing a team rocket uniform. Her light red-brownish hairstyle resembled Bianca's, and her eyes, golden and dark brown, were stained red from the many tears she had cried. The two stared at each other, sensing a feeling of happiness.

The clatter of ammunition caught the attention of the man and Sky, who both quickly whipped their heads around to see the disguised Blu and Rei, a dazed blue guard, a startled green guard, and a somewhat confused Latias floating in the air.

The man quickly shot up from his chair and stepped closer toward the hallway. As he did so, the light finally illuminated his face.

"Red Eyes!" Blu gasped.

"Dad! Master!" Rei shouted as she quickly ran over to hug him. Blu disregarded Rei and pulled his fist back to attack him, only to be held back by the green guard. Blu had been told by Sky that Red Eyes was one of the evil ones, although his judgment was still unknown. The other guard was scrambling on the floor, trying to pack up all the dropped ammunition.

"Please don't tell me that this is true…" Rei sobbed into Red Eyes' shirt. He simply smiled sadly knowing that he was breaking this young creature's heart, but allowed the broken smile to rest on his face anyways.

"I'm afraid it is. This is the job I keep coming into every day. I never wanted to. I'm sorry…" Red Eyes replied sadly as he stroked Rei's back. He turned his head and pressed several buttons on a monitor, unlocking Sky's cell.

The green guard released his grip on Blu, letting him run over and hug his master. "I'm scared… I'm scared…" he whispered.

Sky smiled sadly as he tried looking at Blu in the eyes. It has hard to do so since he had to use his aura to see and the cell he was in had locked up most of his senses. "I'm scared too," he whispered back.

Red Eyes walked over to the corner of the room and pulled something out. He walked back to Rei and put it over her neck. He smiled as he did so, knowing that a family would be reunited.

"I believe it is time to go," the blue guard replied in a monotone voice, although Blu thought he had heard a small crack in it.

"Yes. Yes it is," Sky replied as he broke the embrace with his apprentice. He turned to Red Eyes and gave him a telepathic thank you. Red Eyes took the signal and also broke his embrace with Rei. Sky then turned to the group, who were now in the hallway. "Do me proud," the blind Latios said. He turned to Latias and let loose a few words that pierced her heart. "You too, my… daughter,"

It took a little time for the group to register what Sky had uttered within his last moments. Latias was even more confused… if she was his daughter, then he was his… no… that can't be. After that single monologue, Sky's body burst into a cloud of blue flurries and reformed to create… a Soul Dew. Blu felt tears leaking out of his eyes as he figured that he would never see him again while Latias floated there in shock. They both didn't want to believe it. Red Eyes grabbed the floating gem and handed it to the green guard, who carefully placed it in a satchel similar to Blu's. He then gave Rei a satchel of her own. From inside, he pulled out another Soul Dew and handed it to Latias. This was the Soul Dew of her brother. "You know what to do. Do it," he told the guards. They simply nodded. Red Eyes smiled as he started punching numbers into a keypad. The guards grabbed Blu and Rei and pulled them back into the hallway. Red Eyes shot Rei one last sympathetic look before he punched in the last number. When he did, the metal door closed, sealing the group off from him. A voice beeped over the speaker.

"Warning. This facility will self-destruct in five minutes. Please evacuate the area," it said. Red beams of light pierced through the black sky as Rei desperately tried opening the door in her human form but to no avail as the guards grabbed Rei's and Blu's arms once again and pulled them towards an exit. Rei desperately kicked, not wanting this to be the last visit with her master. Blu also struggled as Latias reluctantly followed behind.

They reached a hanger door. The green guard quickly punched in a code, opening it to reveal a large hovercraft. The guards, along with the disguised Rei and Blu, jumped onto its deck. Latias floated down to it. After she did so, the Blu guard's optical piece turned red once again and scanned her, forcefully turning her into her Bianca form and causing her to stumble across the deck a bit.

A small alarm beeped as red lights flashed throughout the room, revealing that the hovercraft was the only one in the area. The larger hanger door that occupied the entire wall opened, allowing thousands of gallons of seawater to rush inside. The blue guard started up the motor and pushed the boat out into the open ocean. Their journey had just begun.


	17. A Ride to Consider

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

Author's note: Well, here starts the Christmas chapter rush! Also, sorry. I don't think I'll be able to get the Christmas story in by, well, Christmas. I'll try as soon as I can!

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 17- A Ride to Consider**

* * *

**Location: Open sea of Alto Mare**

The entire boat ride was quiet. Blu and Rei were both sulking and mourning. Latias didn't dare try to break the silence. The guards were naturally quiet. Latias knew she wanted to see the Soul Dew that claimed to be her father but decided against it. If these people could manipulate her form and visibility, they could probably do much more. She wasn't ready to find out. She considered flying ahead but they seemed to want her to stay where she was right now.

The disguised Latias looked back and gasped silently, shocked that the entire island had disappeared. Blu and Rei did so too but remained quiet. The two had mixed feelings for each other. They both figured that their masters knew each other before and that they were now both dead. The question was, why? Rei fingered on the thing that her father had given her just before the self-destruct sequence activated. It seemed to be a small necklace. At the end of the chain held a piece of rusty metal in the shape of a quarter circle. On it was a red shadow of a small Latias flying to the left. There were also small latches on the sides. She sighed and tapped it several times, hoping it would do something. It had to have some sort of function.

The tapping started to drive Blu crazy. He asked her several times to stop, but she didn't. He moved closer to try to slap the object out of her hands but stopped when he saw what it was. He choked at the sight and sat down next to her at the edge of the boat. Perhaps they had more in common than he thought.

He set down his own satchel and took out the necklace Sky had given him. It looked nearly identical to the one Rei had. He tried moving it closer to hers until she noticed him and jumped back. She never met anyone else other than her master. She saw what he had and figured out what Blu wanted. The moved closer together and connected the two pieces together. For some reason, they both felt reunited with each other, despite never meeting each other before. Had they?

Latias gazed out at the sea perhaps it was time to break the silence. "So, who are you?" she asked the guards.

"Someone," the blue one replied in an actual voice. Latias frowned. Blu ran the voice through his mind several times. It sounded much like…

"Sky. You're Sky…" he whispered. The guards glanced at him before looking away. Blu frowned in thought. He was seriously starting to question who the guards truly were under the mask. He checked his watch again. It read 3:00 PM. Time was passing quickly.

It didn't take much longer until Alto Mare was spotted. Most of the port had burned and the docks were destroyed. It would take at least a week before the water city was accessible by any large ships. Latias gasped at the true destruction and quickly spun around to the other two, hoping they hadn't seen it too. Fortunately, Blu and Rei were both asleep, head on shoulder and shoulder on head. The disguised Latias smiled at the sight. Perhaps her family would be reunited soon. She could only hope…

The green guard carefully maneuvered the small boat in to position to enter through the main canal. The blue one quickly unstrapped his weapons and opened up his laptop. After several lines of code, he closed it. Latias jumped when she felt the hovercraft sinking. The sudden turbulence jolted the kids up from their sleep. She looked out the hovercraft window and smiled at the city but frowned at the still burning wreckage of the many ships that had self-destructed. Several more shakes vibrated through the craft as it started moving forward underwater. The blue guard opened his computer once again and typed in more lines of code, rendering the craft invisible.

"Where are we?" Rei asked groggily, still waking up from her nap.

"Alto Mare," Latias said a little too happily. It was nice to be home. Rei simply nodded and started dozing back off into sleep before she quickly jumped up.

"Alto Mare? We're going to Alto Mare?" she asked, her eyes large in surprise. Latias frowned. No one was usually that excited. Tourists might be but from what Latias knew, this girl was far from a tourist.

"She's not a rocket agent, is she?" Blu asked the guards. The blue one shook his head. He decided to follow his judgment.

He then turned to Rei. "What's wrong with Alto Mare?" he asked. Rei's excitement died down as she considered this.

"Well, my dad usually told me stories of the place, like the legend of the city," she started. "He had also mentioned that some of his colleagues, I think it was Annie and Oakley, had been there before," Latias cringed at the names. She didn't want to hear them again. She faced toward the window to avoid letting them see her expression. Rei, however, had felt her expression using her psychic powers and also turned away, not wanting to make her feel bad.

"Blu, I'll need sync," the blue guard said as he opened his laptop once again. Blu decided to follow his lead and pulled out his laptop from his satchel. Oddly enough, it turned on by itself. The blue guard nodded in thanks as he started typing something.

"Structural damage is at 32 percent. Twenty three casualties found, 16 of them civilian. Pollution at 50 percent and on code yellow," the blue guard read from his computer. The green guard, upon hearing this, groaned. It was going to take a long time to fix the city. Blu looked at his own screen but was disappointed to find it in a blue haze. "Alright," he continued. "Lorenzo is 94 percent through with the portal. It should be open when we get there. We're clear to proceed past the main entrance gate." Blu and Latias, needless to say, were startled by the mention of Lorenzo's name. Perhaps they could ask him who the guards were.

The group felt more turbulence as the craft swam faster through the water. The smaller Eons were unable to spot anything due to all the pollution from oil and wreckage, but Latias was able to pick up on some key features throughout the canal. She quickly realized in alarm that this was the way to the Secret Garden. No one other than Ash, his friends, and Bianca's family knew.

"Do not be alarmed. We gained access a very, very long time ago," the blue guard told her. She still wasn't reassured.

**Location: Lorenzo's workshop**

**Present time: 3:10 P.M.**

Lorenzo looked at the clock again before punching in several more keys. After, he finally got up for the first time in many hours. Bianca, who had been mulling over on the chairs along with her friends, looked up to see that he was finally finished.

"Mind telling me how to get them back?" she asked, more than irritated. Lorenzo simply walked out of the workshop into the secret garden. Ash and Pikachu looked at each other uncertainly. Lorenzo was usually more social and friendly than this. The group soon followed him.

When inside, he walked over to a particularly large pond and sat down, seeming to wait for something. The rest of the group decided to follow his example.

"Are you feeling well Lorenzo? You've been on that device for over five hours!" Brock told him. "Do you need something to eat or drink? Or what about a rest?"

"I'm fine, thank you very much," Lorenzo stated.

"Grandpa…" Bianca started.

"Please… just a little longer," Lorenzo asked in a soft voice. Bianca nodded and refocused her attention at the pond. Much the amazement of everyone, a large object seemed to be rising from it. Water was sprayed across the garden from its powerful propellers. When the mist died down, everyone's jaws dropped at the sight. An entire hovercraft now hovered over the water. Oddly enough, it carried the Team Rocket emblem and was painted in black. The hatch opened as several figures climbed out and hopped out of the craft, some more skillfully than others. The first ones to touch the ground were the guards.

Pikachu jumped up and shot a thunderbolt at them, thinking that they were invading. The lightning bold, oddly enough, was deflected by a simple flick of the wrist by the blue guard. Lorenzo motioned Pikachu to stand down.

"Do you have the passengers and payload?" he asked them. The green guard nodded and turned around, expecting to see the passengers that had been with them the entire ride. There was no one.

"Can someone open up this hatch?" a voice asked from the hover craft. The green guard sweat dropped as the blue guard quickly ran over to open it up.

The green guard handed over the satchel to Lorenzo, who opened it to take out the Eon duo's father's Soul Dew. Lorenzo whispered several words in prayer before accepting it as the others stood there in surprise.

The heavy hatch swung open and from inside came 3 figures. There was Blu, another Bianca, and younger girl wearing a Team Rocket uniform. The three hopped down from the craft along with the green guard. The disguised Latias saw Bianca and immediately ran over to hug her. Blu and Rei just sat down on the grass, trying to cope with the day's events.

When Bianca and Latias finally broke their embrace, the rest of the group noticed that she was carrying another Soul Dew.

"Wait, I thought that there was only-" Ash started.

"There is only one," the green guard snapped.

'_This… this is my brother's soul,_' Latias answered. Ash paused and then opened his mouth to speak again but was interrupted by Blu.

"That," he said, pointing at the jewel Lorenzo was holding, "Is my master's."

'_And… and…_' Latias stuttered.

"And?" Bianca persisted.

'_My father's…_' Latias finished. She knew that it was true. She knew that the jewel was definitely her father's through the strong pulses it was giving out. There was no doubt about it.

Latias broke out crying, turned into her true form, and flew in for another hug with Bianca. She didn't know how to act. Blu frowned and started clenching the garden grass. Anger startled bubbling through his body, but for what reason? Sky had taken his own life and didn't even see his daughter. Just barely. He had been the only person in Blu's life. Then, he took his own life. He killed himself. He left Blu to explore the world on his own. He abandoned him. Rei sensed these emotions and patted his back. He looked back at her. They were both in the same boat.

He hoped that the boat would stop soon.


	18. Legendary Council

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 18- Legendary Council**

* * *

**Location: Lorenzo's workshop**

"Wait, say that part again," Blu asked.

After spending some time moping around in the Secret Garden, it was unanimously decided that something had to be done. That something was the task given to the guards and Lorenzo.

Lorenzo sighed. He was starting to feel dizzy and tired. "Sky knew you were coming to here later in the future, so he had planned in advance. What is beyond this portal is unknown to me, but he made it for the guards, Ash, Latias, and you two," Lorenzo explained. "Problem is," he continued. "It's activated by a highly complex computer system. I'll… need some help with it."

Blu frowned. He didn't have a computer system other than the laptop. For Arceus sake, he just figured out how to turn it on! The blue guard, however, seemed to understand it completely.

"Yes sir," he said and saluted, before getting to work. In several seconds, he had linked up his laptop and already started activating a holographic lock. As he worked, five more holographic screens popped up around him.

"I thought you were done," Ash asked Lorenzo.

Lorenzo chuckled a little. "Oh no," he started, "That was simply the first security barrier. There are over… I believe six hundred in all, each of them stronger than the last." He turned to Latias and told her, "Your father truly was very curious. I think that he found several discoveries that passed even Uxie."

Latias tried to replay the thought several times in her mind. Lorenzo wasn't even born when she and Latios were born. She found it hard to believe what Lorenzo was saying.

Just as he finished speaking, the blue guard stood up. "All security barriers have been disabled sir," He told Lorenzo. "All we need now is the DNA scan." Lorenzo simply nodded and placed his hand on one of the screens. Once he did so, a circular portal opened that glowed with a holy golden light. Latias knew it felt familiar for some reason. She felt that she had been here before but couldn't remember exactly where it was.

The two guards stepped back, as if trying to shield themselves from the light. "Alright. Let's move. We'll go in first. Rei and Blu shall follow us, who are then followed behind by Ash and Latias," the green guard ordered after they recovered. "No one else follow us, understood?"

Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder, only to be swept off by the green guard. "No one else, understood?" he growled. Pikachu growled back and stood his ground.

"Let them do what is necessary, alright? Latias' father knew what he was doing if he gave specific orders," Lorenzo told the rest of the group.

"But who are they?" Bianca asked.

Lorenzo turned to look at the guards and then turned back before saying, "Fragments. They're just fragments." Inside their masks, the guards winced. They didn't want to be reminded of who they were.

The somewhat agitated blue guard formed a bone rush staff out of aura and promptly entered the portal. The green guard quickly followed. "Should we trust them?" Rei asked in a human voice. No one else knew she was a Lati… not yet.

"They feel trustworthy for some reason. If my…master… had ordered this, then I'm going," Blu said before also following in. Rei, not wanting to be left behind, followed him.

Latias looked down at her paws, the paws that held her brother's Soul Dew. It flashed several times in reassurance. She smiled at it and then at Ash before following the rest. Ash was about to follow in before Lorenzo held him back and handed him the Eon duo's father's Soul Dew. "Take care of them, alright?" he told Ash. Ash nodded and headed into the portal. Lorenzo smiled knowing that something wonderful would happen.

**Location: Hall of Legends**

The Hall of Legends was also another meeting place in The Light for the legendary Pokémon. The only difference was that it was in a physical state. However, it was used for much more important meetings as one would have to leave their current location to enter. The area was accessed only by a special teleportation move. Time still passed but copies replaced the legendaries to ensure that nothing went wrong in the outside universe during the duration the legendary was gone. If it was a major legendary, however, time would stop only temporarily. The Hall of Origin was completely different, as that was where Arceus slept and monitored everything. Plus, there just wasn't as much space.

Uxie had gathered every legendary Pokémon he could into the area for some sort of important meeting. He knew something was coming, but he just didn't know what exactly. "There must be something that's blocking my thoughts," he thought to himself. It troubled him deeply.

Suddenly, a portal opened up in the side of the wall. Out of it walked a heavily armed figure. Mewtwo instantly recognized the familiar "R" logo and launched a quick, but huge Shadow Ball at him. The dark blue figure simply deflected it with his bone rush staff. Upon impact, the entire attack dissolved into the air. Mewtwo was shocked. That had been one of the few times where his attacks had been taken and no damage caused. Several seconds after the attack, another heavily armed guard walked through the portal but this one was in a dark green color. Followed by him were two kids along with Ash and Latias.

Mewtwo shot a glance over at Uxie, who was currently trying to figure out who these new visitors were. He was strongly considering attacking but the presence of Ash told him that they were friendly.

"Hmm…" Uxie mulled. Latias, being a typical prankster, tried to see if she could scare her. It had been quite a long time since she had been with any of her legendary friends.

"Boo!" she yelled right behind him.

"Ahh," Uxie said blandly before going back into his think tank. Latias pouted and flew over to greet her other friends. However, she was quickly stopped by the green guard.

"Stay here," he ordered. She reluctantly followed the command.

"Can someone tell me where we are? How can I understand all of you?" Ash asked. He was somewhat intimidated by all of their presences but knew they were all friendly. The two disguised Eons, however, were thoroughly intimidated and started backing up into the portal, only to have it close.

"Latias, can you please tell us what is going on here? Why are their humans in the Hall of Legends?" Mewtwo asked, somewhat agitated. Problem with Latias is that no one could stay mad at her for long. She always had a way to get around it.

Latias shrugged. "Ask them," she said, pointing towards the guard. Doing so revealed that in her other paw held the Soul Dew.

"Latias, I thought you knew better than to take the Soul Dew out of the pedestal," Kyogre growled. Latias stammered, trying to find an explanation but then quickly realized that she was right.

"Oh no! We have to get back to-" she started.

"The situations been handled already," the green guard said dismissively.

"Ahem," Mewtwo interrupted. "The humans?"

"Human," Uxie corrected. "There is only one human present at this time. Ash."

Mewtwo opened his mouth to protest but then closed it. Uxie always had an explanation. The legendaries stared at the remaining "humans".

Blu and Rei both took several more steps back. They were getting scared of the more powerful Pokémon. Blu had only ever trained to fight in his human state while Rei had never trained at all.

"Come on, they're friendly!" Latias told them. Blu shot an uncertain glance at the guards, who nodded. After a deep breath, he closed his eyes and concentrated on his form. Starting from his chest area, he gradually felt his body change until he knew he was finished. He opened his eyes from his Latios from. He looked to his left to see Rei's reaction and was stunned to see in her place was a Latias. Rei was also stunned to see a Latios in the place of Blu. Both of them flew back a meter from each other, causing their respective necklaces to fall from their necks.

All the legendaries stood there in shock. They knew that there were multiple of some legendaries, but each one that was currently present had been assigned here by Arceus. The hall had been designed to keep all other Pokémon out.

Uxie felt a small grin creep onto his face. "I think we found our new members," he said.


	19. The Culprit

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 19- The Culprit**

* * *

_Dear Director of project X,_

_ We have been informed the start of a project for our new… weapons. We plan to see progress soon. Do not disappoint us. We have already heard rumors of failure but remember that we are people of fact. If we I do not see progress made, the project shall be terminated. You know what will happen if you betray us, Director._

_-from the Council_

…

**Location: Hall of Legends**

"Uxie! Now is not the time!" the green guard shouted. "We have much, much more important issues on our hands."

Uxie's smile disappeared, much to the disappointment of his sister, Mesprit. After some time, he finally asked, "What is your task?"

"We're here to revive Latios, the sister of Latias and the son of our master," the blue guard replied. Latias gasped. Blu's ears perked up at the last part.

"How do you plan on doing that?" Darkrai asked. As the god of death and nightmares, it seemed to be a reasonable question. "He's trapped in the Soul Dew. Just how are you going to get him out?"

"With the help of our master, of course," the green guard promptly replied.

Darkrai raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe you," he simply stated.

"You know what he did with the entire ethnicity of life, right?" the blue guard asked. Darkrai felt a shiver of fear shoot through his spine. That was not something he liked to talk about. "That's what I thought," he finished.

"What did he do?" Latias asked. She was scared to know, but she had to figure out who her father was.

Darkrai simply ignored her and for good reason. As mentioned before, it was not a comfortable topic. "But how are you going to use his help? He's dead," Darkrai persisted.

The green guard walked over to Ash and took Latias' father's Soul Dew from him, revealing it to everyone else. Everyone's jaws dropped.

"But, but, how is that even possible!?" Darkrai protested.

"I believe you forgot the other end of his final assignment," the blue guard answered casually. Blu felt his mind start to dizzy. The green guard saw this and quickly put the Soul Dew away into his satchel. Several seconds after this, Blu felt fine once more. Latias frowned at this observation but decided to keep it to herself.

All the legendaries' expressions grew from surprised to solemn. Blu tilted his head in confusion. Just what was the final assignment?

"H-How did he make it past… Him?" Darkrai finally stammered.

"He didn't. He was given a second chance," the blue guard replied. "This is what he had been given a second chance for. To revive his son."

There was a silence.

This time, Rayquaza spoke. "He does know the true cost of doing that, right?" he asked.

"Yes. Yes he does," the blue guard responded.

Silence once more.

"Why?" Latias asked. Everyone turned their attention to her. "Why… why is it that I won't ever see my dad?" Tears started to fall out of her eyes.

"That's how destiny goes," Rayquaza replied.

"But-"

"But nothing. Your father has already died just to save your two souls. He is doing it again to save your brother. Is this what you want? To go against his will?" Rayquaza demanded. Latias sobbed harder. It felt that the entire world was against her. Ash hugged to comfort her, ignoring the claw marks that were appearing on his back.

"Blu, surely you have something to say on this," she continued. Surely there had to be someone to support her.

Everyone's attention was now on the small Latios. He had been silent ever since they entered through the portal. "He's always made the right decision," he told. "Let him do what's right."

Latias collapsed. All her hope was lost in ever seeing her father again. She wanted to see her brother again, but at the same time, she didn't want her father to die. She just wanted to see him one last time.

'_You'll see him again. That, I know,_' a voice popped in in her head. She didn't know the voice, but it seemed to be comforting. The flow of tears started to cease. She broke her hug with Ash and finally admitted to her defeat.

"Alright, how will we do it?" Latias finally asked.

"We… will need to awaken our Father," the green guard replied.

Silence.

"How?" Uxie asked.

"We gather all Legendary Council members and Ash will help activate the awakening," the green guard said.

"We cannot simply awaken our Father from his slumber. He needs his rest!" Lugia protested. Many of the other legendaries nodded their head in agreement. They all wanted to see Latios back in the world of the living, but at the same time, they didn't want to cause Father any trouble.

"There is a way," Blu spoke up. Everyone turned to him and saw that he and Rei were currently in their human forms.

"Is there a reason you're in your human forms?" Ho-Oh asked out of curiosity.

He and Rei looked at each other and thought for a little. "Well… we can't exactly control our form. It changes at random times," Rei concluded. The other legendaries' sweat dropped. Several formed doubts that questioned if Uxie was right that they were the new members of the Legendary Council.

"Anyway, back on topic," Blu cleared his throat. "It is possible to awaken him in a semi-conscious state so that he can still observe what happens in the world. However, his presence wouldn't be known. It will serve for the resurrection." (Latias briefly wondered how they could both talk in their human forms.)

"How do you know this?" Lugia asked doubtfully.

"I'm… not sure. A voice sounded in my head…" Blu replied sheepishly.

"That could work," Uxie said, mulling over his options. Right now, he felt many that spots of knowledge with the two smaller Eons and events they were in was missing, although he didn't know why. The idea, however, sounded plausible.

"Err… does anyone know how to set up Arceus' awakening?" Blu asked. Each of the legendaries looked at each other and then finally at Uxie who was currently meditating for an answer.

"I thought that Uxie knew everything," Latias wondered out loud.

"He does," Dialga answered. "He's been having troubles with those smaller Latis, though."

"Now what?" Blu asked.

"We wait. The answer will come… eventually," the guards both spoke at the same time. Blu blinked several times.

Latias, meanwhile, had gone to chat with her friends. "Hi Mew!" she said cheerfully to the small pink cat-like Pokémon.

"Hi Latias!" she replied, just as, if not more, cheerfully than her. She proceeded to form a small pink bubble and bounce on it. She formed a larger one for Latias to bounce on. She tried to but instead, fell straight into the middle of it. They both laughed at the situation. It had been a long time since they had played together.

Mewtwo floated over to Ash and started to talk with him. He explained that since they were in an energy plentiful area, translation was not a problem. The eager trainer listened and then explained to Mewtwo the many adventures had had experienced past the last time they had met. Mewtwo's eyes widened at how much progress the young child had made and smiled at it. He was definitely growing.

Blu took his this time to see what he could discover out of all the items in his bag. All the poke-items had somehow disappeared. The only items that remained were the laptop, glasses, and USB cord. Blu frowned and decided to ask the blue guard more about it later. They seemed to know how everything worked and also seemed to have the identical items as him.

He sat down on the ground and opened up his laptop. He put his optics on and connected the cord between the two devices. As before, the laptop finally started up, displaying columns and columns of alien language. The glasses showed the same inscription. Blu frowned and got up with the device to go ask the guards why it was so. If they were all "apprentices" of Latias' father and had the same items, surely they could help him.

Across the room, Deoxys felt his purple crystal throbbing in pain in his chest. He knelt down, gasping for breath. He then spotted the disguised Eon holding a very familiar laptop.

_No… No! This can't be!_

He had to stop him. He knew he just had to stop Blu. Gathering his remaining strength, a Psycho Boost attack started forming in his arms. With a grunt, he hurled the green ball of energy right at him. An explosion sounded from the area of the Eon. Satisfied, Deoxys finally succumbed to fainting.

Blu never stood a chance. One minute he was walking and the next, he was hurtled into the wall and then down on the floor. He thought he could hear Rei shouting his name but it was all muted out as he felt his body shutting down. He could see in blurry vision the concerned guards rushing towards him. His glasses had been hurled off his face and the thin frame had broken. The entire laptop was in pieces. He wondered what had hit him and what would happen to him as death slowly crept up his body.


	20. Haunted Memories

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 20- Haunted Memories**

* * *

_Dear Council,_

_ I can assure you that you will have your top soldiers soon. They both have exceeded even the top forces and can take down anything with ease. For example, your Class-5 destroyer was obliterated in just under a minute. I have equipped them with our top weapons. We should have no concern facing anything. However, due to their origins, they may have seeds of doubt in what we do. I suggest we hide it from them for as long as possible._

_ -from your dear Director_

…

"So what do we get to do today, Director?" a voice asked. Blu blinked several times but found that he couldn't. He was in someone else's body or rather, watching their memories.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," a deep, dark voice replied. The entire room was dark and empty, with only a speaker and camera on one side. The figure that Blu was in sighed and looked down at his feet. "How about you go for a flight with your sister?" the voice suggested. The figure looked… no, felt… quite happy as he rushed out the door and into the corridor.

Unbeknownst to Blu and the figure, back inside in another room, the voice spoke again but this time in a more feminine voice. She pushed a button, opening up a private channel.

"You called?" a voice came from the other side.

"Yes. Sigma, play part B in our mission today," she answered. Sigma grunted in reply and the line went dead. The woman sat back in her chair and smiled.

…

**Location: Hall of Legends**

The blue guard knelt next to the small Eon's body, trying to heal him with an aura pulse. The green one stood nearby monitoring his vitals. Both guards had ordered a five meter radius around him. Nobody questioned him. Latias started to wonder just how strong the guards were when even Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina backed off.

"Darkrai?" the green guard asked.

The Pitch-Black Pokémon stopped meditating just for second. "It's not me. I'm losing his soul entirely," he replied before going back into deep meditation. The guards just shook their heads in confusion. It just didn't make sense. Unless…

The green guard snatched the Soul Dew from Latias' paws using a psychic power. She cried out and tried to grab it back but a sharp glare told her otherwise. They knew what they were doing. The green guard laid the jewel next to Blu's unconscious body and nodded toward the blue guard. He walked over and kneeled over the jewel, carefully placing his hands over it. In a bright flash, aura wisped out of the jewel, most of it focusing onto the white triangle on the back Blu's hoodie.

"He should be fine," the green guard mumbled. He checked his vitals again. They were stable.

Latias floated closer because she was worried about her brother. She didn't want the Soul Dew to break or anything bad to happen to it. "Will the Soul Dew be fine?" she squeaked.

"Yes. We are simply borrowing some energy in it to revive Blu. Your brother will not need that form for much longer, correct?" the blue guard answered. Latias simply nodded.

Darkrai suddenly broke from his meditation. "His soul's coming back!" he exclaimed. The blue guard sat down and counted a little longer before he picked up the jewel and handed it back to Latias. The flow of aura had stopped.

Blu groaned as his mind started to stir. He sputtered several times as he tried to sit up, only to be held down by the blue guard.

"You still need to recover," he told him in a very serious tone.

Blu groaned. "What hit me?" he asked. Rei opened her mouth to reply, but unfortunately, Deoxys had also awoken.

"You monster…" he grumbled. His body glowed briefly as he switched into his Attack Forme.

Both guards set themselves in a protective stance and the blue one drew his bone rush staff. "What happened before is in the past," the green guard told him.

"Arceus may forgive one easily, but I don't," he mumbled. His arm formed together into a sharp blade.

"Deoxys, stand down! What is going on!?" Darkrai demanded.

"That boy right there… is nothing good in this world," Deoxys replied. "I recognize that gadget…"

"What are you talking about?" Blu asked incredulously. "I've been living with Sky my entire life!"

Deoxys chuckled darkly. "They must've erased your memory again," he started. He turned to Rei. "Yours too." Rei took several steps back, looking baffled. She had been living with Red Eyes her entire life.

Deoxys laughed at the looks on both their faces. "You both remember only five years of your life, but your bodies show that you're older. You both lived three years with your so called "masters" before they had the next two years harsh with you," Deoxys continued. "Do you remember how you got to your "masters"?"

"That's enough!" the blue guard cut in.

"What exactly did he do?" Darkrai asked gravely. The guards felt that they were losing hope.

"He killed her," Deoxys simply said. "He killed my friend." With a cry, he lunged towards Blu with his blade ready. Ash's heart skipped a beat. His friend? The green crystal Deoxys was dead? Deoxys was almost ready to pierce until something stopped him.

"I said what was in the past is in the past!" the green guard exclaimed and drew his energy sword out of Deoxys' chest and kicked him backwards. The flat and diamond shaped blade glowed with a transparent green. With a flick of his wrist, the blade disappeared.

"He's unconscious," the green guard explained as a worried Darkrai floated over to check up on him. "The blades simply immobilize someone."

The guards turned around to see a traumatized Rei leaning against the wall and an unconscious Blu. Their hearts sank. They had already borrowed too much energy from the Soul Dew. Now, they could only hope he made it out alive.

…

"So… what are we doing today?" someone asked beside him. Blu's body kept walking by itself.

"The Director said we could go for a flight," Blu suggested.

"Race ya to the hangers!" she said before running off. The figure looked exactly like Rei. Blu simply shook his several times and took off toward his sister.

…

Uxie had finished his meditation just to see chaos strewn everywhere. Deoxys lay unconscious in the middle of the room with many of the legendaries kneeling beside him. At one side of the room lay an unconscious Blu, a worried Rei and Ash, and two distressed guards. Latias had started to move from Deoxys to Blu. Uxie moved in for an explanation.

"What happened here?" Uxie asked.

Latias shot a look over at the guards before she started. "The first time Deoxys attacked Blu with a Psycho Boost. Blu's laptop and glasses got destroyed, and both of them got knocked out. The second time Deoxys attacked Blu claiming that he had killed his friend. I think Blu fainted because he was scared," Latias explained. She gave Blu another worried glance. "The guards say that the Soul Dew won't help since they already borrowed so much energy from it. They can only hope that he makes it out alive."

Uxie frowned at this. He was already starting to piece together his origins.

…

The hangar was deserted, as usual. There were only two jets present. A blue one and a red one. Blu had entered the cockpit of the blue jet and Rei into the red one. Soon, both jets were powering up their engines in the run way.

Blu smiled and turned on the holographic display, showing Rei's face. He smiled. She smiled back. "What's the competition this time?" she asked. Blu thought for a moment.

"Most tricks," he replied and then grinned savagely. This was going to get exciting. Just as he finished, he pulled back on the throttle, sending his jet flying just a foot above and then behind Rei's. She sighed and decided to pull one of her own. They had done this plenty of times. It never seemed to get old.

Just below in the open sea lay several destroyers. "How far are they through?" the man named Sigma asked.

"Seventy percent, sir," a trooper replied as he flicked through the complex controls.

"You know what to do. Do it," the voice came over on his headphone. Sigma nodded and mentally reviewed his orders. An entire minute passed in silence.

"They're level. Fire all weapons," he ordered.

Blu and Rei had just leveled out their jets at the same altitude. Blu looked down at his radar. It showed that they were over the open sea. Blu smiled. It always felt good here for some reason.

Suddenly, Rei's jet burst into flames. Blu opened his mouth but no words came out. He looked around and found that his own cockpit was on fire. As the jet plunged towards the ocean, he tried pulling the throttle up but nothing worked. He felt the flames licking his back as every muscle strained to try to move. Nothing worked. Nothing happened. Then, he felt nothing.


	21. Reawakening, Resurrection, and Life

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 21- Reawakening, Resurrection, and Life**

* * *

_Dear Director,_

_ We have been receiving reports from your grunts that there have been tremendous casualties throughout your area. We demand to see your progress and what you are working on. If it is true that your so called top soldiers are causing this entire ruckus, we have no choice but to dispose of all evidence, including you. So, dear Director, show us what you have._

_ -from the Council_

…

**Location: Testing facility- Many years ago…**

"Sigma?" the voice asked. "Did they pass?"

"Negative, sir," Sigma replied. "They're still reckless."

"Are they still in the dark?" the voice asked again.

"Affirmative," Sigma answered.

"Good. Let's keep it that way," she said.

…

**Location: Hall of Legends- Present time**

Rei kneeled over Blu's body and kept shaking him. He had to wake up! She didn't want to be alone in this world. The green guard checked his vitals once more on the holographic screen and looked over at Darkrai, who was once again in deep meditation. Darkrai opened his eye to look back at the glaring guard.

"I'm not doing it!" he protested.

The green guard nodded in understanding. "Try searching his nightmares," he suggested. The Pitch-Black Pokémon looked back in confusion but decided to follow the advice as he dove into deep meditation once more.

Ash looked over at Mewtwo. "How much have they been through?" he asked.

Mewtwo did a quick psychic scan through Rei's and Blu's minds. "Too much for them to handle," he replied solemnly. "Both of their guardians are dead and now they're pulled into this."

"Can you figure out who they are?" Ash asked. Mewtwo shook his head.

"I can only see through the past five years of their life. Nothing major had happened then," Mewtwo muttered. "Uxie's working on it."

"What about the guards?" Ash questioned.

"No idea…" Mewtwo mumbled while he gazed into the far off distance.

Latias floated over to comfort the crying Rei. She placed her paw on her back and rubbed it a little. Rei stopped crying to look over at Latias and then hugged her, burying her wet face into her feathery down. Latias gave her a sympathetic look before hugging her back. She felt as if she was the older sibling now.

Rei pulled back and pulled out the two pieces of the necklace, joining them together. Latias cooed in curiosity and poked her neck over Rei's shoulder to look at it.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Dad gave it to me just before, you know," Rei answered before a few more tears fell from her eyes. "Apparently, I think Blu's master, or your father, also did the same for him. It's kind of weird how they link, right?"

Latias nodded but kept her focus on the necklace. It seemed too familiar.

Suddenly, someone groaned from somewhere in the room. Rei shoved the necklace back into her satchel and sprang from her position and ran over to the now conscious Blu.

"Am I dead yet?" Blu groaned.

"No, you're still fine," Rei replied before tightly hugging him.

"You're… crushing… me," Blu gasped. Rei simply smiled and let go.

The green guard noticed the commotion between the two and turned his head. "We're leaving," he promptly stated. "Blu, Rei, follow behind us."

Blu stood up. "Why?" he asked. They had just arrived.

"The reawakening will not need you two," the green guard harshly told them. "We don't want to cause any… interference."

"Wait, if you try to leave now, you will be trapped in time!" Dialga jumped in.

The green guard growled but realized that Dialga was speaking the truth. He didn't mention that they had something to bypass both time and space. "Fine. We'll stay until Ash and Latias have to go," the guard grunted. "And keep Deoxys away from the two." Latias smiled at the two smaller Eons, happy that they could stay a little longer.

Deoxys had begun to stir again. Darkrai put an arm to his chest, holding him down. "That's enough with you. Just let us reawaken our Father," he told him. Deoxys felt the anger rumbling through his body once more. None of them knew how it was to lose someone dear to them. None of them-

'_You're not the only one,_' Latias interrupted his thoughts.

'_Yes, but you're about to have your brother come back! She's never coming back,_' Deoxys thought back.

'_I thought the same. Maybe there will be a chance one day. Let us talk about this with Father, ok?_' Latias asked. Deoxys grunted and calmed down. Darkrai released his grip.

'_I did some further analyzing,_' Uxie cut in. '_Her death had occurred sometime during this year. Blu had not moved from his island at all. He couldn't have gone up that high to do such a deed,_'

Deoxys calmed down further and tried being reasonable. '_What about his aura?_' he asked.

'_It's mixed. Some of it's clear and bright, some of it's dark,_' Uxie replied. '_It's hard to tell._' Latias frowned at this.

Deoxys stood up and looked at the protective guards. "Alright," he said out loud. "I won't attack them. Not until I figure out more." The guards looked at one another before lowering their battle stances. Blu crawled over to the wreckage and put whatever was left of the laptop back into his satchel.

"Can we reawaken Father now?" the Latias asked Uxie eagerly. She really wanted to see her brother once more.

In response, Uxie nodded and sent a psychic message over the blue guard. The guard then took out another laptop identical to the one Blu had. Deoxys spotted this but didn't move against it. The guard then opened it and started punching in lines of code.

Several minutes passed in silence. Then, the guard put the laptop back into his satchel and waited. Suddenly, 50 platforms marked with a Pokémon silhouette started rising from the ground. One more formed in the middle but had nothing on it.

"Everyone to their spots," Uxie called out. All the legendaries moved over to their respective platforms. That only left three of them empty. One for Latios, one for Jirachi, and the last one was for Ash. It was also happened to be the one in the middle.

The green guard walked over and placed Latios' Soul Dew on his respective platform. Celebi left briefly to grab a past and awake version of Jirachi so they could perform the ritual without waiting another thousand years. The guards along with smaller Eons stayed in a corner of the room. The rest of the legendaries motioned Ash to come to the middle platform. He did so hesitantly.

"Um, so what do I do?" Ash asked.

"Concentrate your aura into a solid form. We'll handle the rest," Uxie replied.

Ash took a deep breath in and then released it. He closed his eyes and concentrated as light blue aura wisped from his hands. Every legendary concentrated and the aura soon turned into a gold and white color. The wisps gracefully danced along the air before it focused within a single point. A ball of pure energy started to form and an opaque barrier started to separate Ash from the circle of legendaries.

Inside the barrier, Ash shut his eyes and kept forcing his aura into the small sphere. It hurt, but he couldn't stop now. The jewel soon started to take shape as the aura curved to form Arceus' body.

'_Ash… stop…_' a voice rang through his mind. Ash didn't. He couldn't stop now. He had to keep moving on.

'_Ash…_' the voice rang again.

_'ASH!'_ the voice shouted. A surprised human jumped out of his concentration to look at the body of Arceus. '_Why am I awake?_' He asked.

"We… we need to revive Latios," Ash replied. Arceus sighed. It was time.

'_Very well,_' Arceus replied. With a sudden flash of light, the barrier shattered into many pieces. A very tired Ash felt his legs lose control as he collapsed.

As soon as the ritual was over, a very worried Latias flew over to Ash, ignoring the fact that she was just in front of Father. She nudged his body with her snout several times, cooing sadly that there was no response.

'_He'll be fine,_' Arceus spoke. Latias looked up to see the Arceus' face staring right back at her. Every muscle in her body froze as she stared back, unable to move. Arceus smiled and Latias felt a warm feeling relieve her body. She smiled back.

Arceus closed his eyes as we did a quick scan over what had happened since his slumber. A minute passed in silence. '_It's that time, isn't it?_' he murmured as his eyes opened.

"Yes, sir," the green guard replied before picking up Latios' Soul Dew and presenting it before Arceus. Several Pokémon frowned at what he was calling Father. It was as if an order was given out.

He knelt and placed both Soul Dews in front of Arceus and then backed off, pulling Latias and Ash with him. Arceus closed his eyes and concentrated as golden energy began to Latios' Soul Dew from Sky's Soul Dew, and oddly enough, from Blu and the guards as well. No one except Blu and the guards noticed this as the trail was so faint.

Figures started to form from the jewels. Both of the Latioses' bodies were in an aura form. Sky opened his eyes and looked around the room once before smiling and dissipating into nothing. His job was done.

The flow of energy increased and Sky's Soul Dew began to break apart. Latias wept a few tears but thanked him for giving her brother back. Beside, Latios' body started to form. Just like with Arceus, the aura wisps started to curve around the jewel to form his body. Soon enough, he looked just like he did when he died in the column of light. Arceus concentrated even further as the other Pokémon watched in amazement. After a little, Latios' body started to darken and lighten into his respective colors. Suddenly, many flurries of light shot from his body, blinding everyone in the room. The resurrection was finished.

Latios yawned and tried to open his eyes. What had just happened? His eyes didn't have time to focus on anything before a something red and white tackled him.

"You're alive, brother! You're alive!" Latias shouted.

"S-sis?" Latios stammered. He got up from her playful tackle to survey his surroundings. "What happened?"

Latias opened her mouth to explain everything but was stopped by someone groaning. Everyone turned to the corner where the smaller Eons were to see a worried Rei kneeling over an unconscious Blu. The guards had disappeared. Their job was done.

A worried Darkrai checked his vitals once more but was relieved that he was stable this time. He shared the good news with everyone else. Latios still had to recover from his shock.

He had first noticed that there were humans in the Hall of Legends. He then noticed that he truly was alive, not dead or trapped in a dream. He finally turned around to notice that Arceus was standing right behind him.

"H-how am I alive? I thought I died!" Latios exclaimed.

"You did," Uxie replied. "Through many events, your father's Soul Dew was recovered. Ash awoke Arceus so that your father could use his remaining energy to revive you."

There was a pause.

Uxie sighed, knowing there was no better way to put this. "He," Uxie began. "Has become one with Arceus." Latios' eyes widened. He turned over to Latias to see if the statement was true. She simply nodded and shed a few more tears before embracing him.

It was nice to be alive again.

Thanks, dad.


	22. Retrieval Team: Alpha

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 22- Retrieval Team: Alpha**

* * *

_Dear Director,_

_We have learned from intelligence that you have discovered the uses of soul splicing quite long ago and have been actively using it to make your units compatible with each other and improve their effectiveness. We have also learned that you have been testing beyond my limits. We have taken steps to prevent this, as we have already formed the retrieval teams to hunt down and kill any rogue, soul spliced, or critically injured unit. There will also be one sent to you. Keep in mind that you are walking on a fine line. Have a good day, Director._

_ -from the Council_

…

**Location: Testing facility- Many years ago…**

"End the simulation, Sigma," the Director ordered from her voice modifier.

"Yes, sir," Sigma replied before punching in lines of code into his computer, revealing two tubes holding the Delta and Beta units. The Commander walked over and looked at them.

"You aren't making much progress. Run another simulation, and this time, remove the Beta unit from Delta," he ordered.

"If we do, there's a chance that Delta will break down!" the Director protested. The Councilman nodded in agreement. The last incident was not pretty.

"I don't care about consequences, I care results. I want him to keep running through those simulations until he is our perfect soldier," the Commander demanded. "Do whatever you have to do. Split his soul again if that is needed."

"… There's a chance he won't make it if we do so," the Director mumbled.

"He has been through that process once already. He'll be fine through several more times. Remember that only you have that knowledge so the entire project is riding on you. Do not fail me with another pathetic fragment," the Commander stated. Sigma suddenly stood up and stood in a ready position to attack him, but the Director held him back. The Commander sneered. "Get working."

The Director sighed as she started up another simulation for Delta to go through. The Councilman walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder. In truth, he was a kind man when he wanted to be.

That night, a simulation of death was replayed once more. Many, many more were to come.

…

**Location: Testing facility- Present day**

Sigma looked up from his control panel. He read the report several times before rushing out of the room. This wasn't good… at all. They had to warn them.

…

**Location: Unknown- Present day**

"Council?" a voice asked. "Why in the world is Delta's recovery beacon activated?"

"He's joined with two other units," a member of the Council explained. "Also, I see one more unit near him."

The owner of the voice smiled and leaned back in his seat. "Send in the retrieval teams," he simply ordered.

…

**Location: Hall of Legends**

Blu was unconscious. Again. This time, however, was not filled with a nightmare. It seemed to be rather pleasant. He found himself in a dark room that seemed to extend forever. There was nothing inside.

Blu took several steps and stopped, trying to figure out where he was. Suddenly, a humanoid shaped figure burst from a small green light. Blu jumped back in surprise.

"Don't be worried," the figure comforted. Blu quickly realized that it was the green guard. Unfortunately, the figure was blurred in many streaks of light so it was still impossible to determine who was under the armor.

Suddenly, a similar figure exploded from streaks of blue light. Blu had already guessed it was the blue guard that had accompanied him.

"Aww… he didn't jump," the figure whined. The green guard ignored him while Blu tilted his head in confusion. It didn't seem that this would match his personality.

"Be quiet, Alpha," the green guard cautioned. "We don't want to wake him up." The blue guard seemed to pout before he sat down and crossed his arms.

"What happened?" Blu asked. "Why am I here?"

The green guard took in a deep breath before explaining. "Since we were apprentices of Sky, we all had some sort of connection with him," he started. "When he became one with Father, we each lost a part of him. That connection also caused our life energy to be drained during Latios' resurrection. That loss was so great that we all would've died." Blu's eyes widened in shock.

"So… how are we alive?" Blu asked.

"When Sky left, we all became soul fragments. That's why we're here. We had joined together in your body to save all of us. Since you had the most of your soul left, we became the partners for you instead of the other way around. It's called soul splicing," the guard explained.

Blu frowned at this. He didn't like the fact that he now had other people in his body, especially people he had mixed judgments with. He still wasn't sure if he should be glad that they kidnapped him and then helped resurrect a fellow Pokémon.

"Don't worry," the blue guard piped up. "It's not that bad." This didn't reassure him at all. Had they done this before?

More importantly, just who was he?

…

Latios was excited to be alive, but being the overprotective brother he always was, he still had his concerns.

"Why are there humans in the Hall of Legends?" Latios hastily asked.

"Human," Uxie corrected once more. "There is only one human present at the time. That is Ash." Latios blinked several times in confusion. He turned to the remaining "humans" and tried to read their minds but found himself blocked by something.

Rei had noticed the conversation and walked up to Latios. In a bright burst of light, she changed into her Latias form. The surprised Eon flew back a meter.

"How is that possible?" Latios blurted out. "Other Pokémon can't come into the Hall of Legends!"

"There have been others," Arceus stated. Latios waited for an explanation but none was provided. "As for Ash, he's the chosen one." Latios nodded in understanding. Ash did seem to be a walking legendary magnet and had already saved the world several times.

Latios turned to the final "human" who was currently trying to get up from his fall. Darkrai checked his vitals once more. They seemed to have changed entirely. Rei flew over to help him up.

"Wait, how did you fall unconscious this time?" Darkrai asked.

"Long story," Blu groaned. His head still felt as if it was being pounded by Misty's mallet.

Back inside of his body, the green guard was supplying energy to help Blu move. He currently did not have the energy himself since he had the closest relation with their master. Suddenly, he received a message from an old friend. His eyes widened in shock.

'_We need to go. Now,_' he urgently told Blu.

'_I still can't move well,_' Blu thought back. The green guard groaned and decided to do something to help speed up the process. They had to leave the Hall of Legends now.

Green lines of energy shot through Blu's human body, starting from the hollow red triangle in the middle of his hoodie. A green holographic visor formed on his right eye as the green guard started to gain more and more control of Blu's body.

Rei had seen this and yelped in surprise and flew back, dropping Blu in the process. Blu got up and walked over to the wall they had entered from.

"We need to go. Now," he spoke not in his own, but in the green guard's voice. He nodded towards Arceus and He nodded back in understanding. With a simple command, the portal opened once more. Blu was about to walk through it before Dialga started speaking about still time concerns. He swiftly interrupted Dialga's speech by pulling out a time gear from his satchel and walking straight through the portal. Rei scrunched up her face before following after him. "He better have a good reason for this," she thought.

Ash looked towards the remaining Eons for their decision. Latias flew through, soon to be followed by her brother. Ash took a deep breath as he stepped into the portal once more.

…

"This is team Alpha. We are in position. I repeat, we are in position to dispatch targets," a soldier called over his comm. He checked the rifle once more. "All team members are set. We are ready to attack on your command sir." The Commander grinned.

…

**Location: Lorenzo's workshop**

Bianca, Brock, Pikachu, Misty, and Lorenzo all sat worriedly around the wall the portal had opened from. The time showed 11:00pm. They had been gone for 8 hours. Lorenzo told the group to leave and prepare themselves for the night but nobody did. They were all worried. Suddenly, the portal reopened and out rushed a frazzled Blu. Burn marks ran through his face and hoodie. A weird green visor was set on his face along with strange lines that ran throughout his body. Lorenzo immediately recognized what was going on and stood up.

"What's going on?" Lorenzo asked hurriedly.

Blu panted several times. The green guard felt his energy start to deplete. "The retrieval teams are here," he mumbled.

Lorenzo's was shocked. If the retrieval teams were here…

"Duck!" he shouted. The rest of the group looked around in confusion. They didn't need any more urging as a bullet tore through the air and pierced Blu's left shoulder. Two soldiers tried flanking him by coming around the entrance from the Secret Garden and the entrance to the workshop.

Blu quickly drew the same energy blade that had been used against Deoxys and threw it at one soldier. He then formed another and threw it at the other. Both of the soldiers had no time to react before their limp bodies fell to the ground, blades sticking from their backs. (1)

Blu closed his eyes and concentrated to disable the sniper atop one of the buildings with psychic. There was little resistance. The retrieval teams were getting sloppy. The green guard/ Blu checked his visor once more to see for any others but was relieved that they had all been taken out. He soon ran out of energy and fainted just as the rest of the group came through the portal.

He hoped that his old friend was doing just as well.

* * *

(1)- No they aren't dead. Remember, the blades only immobilize someone.


	23. The Director

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 23- The Director**

* * *

**Location: Command Base**

"Commander, team Alpha has been disabled," the sergeant reported.

The Commander grunted. It must've been Omega's doing to interfere with the mission. "What about team Bravo?" he asked.

"Their search for the Director has proved futile, sir," the sergeant replied.

"If I may, sir-" the Councilman started.

"Shut up. Continue search and send and pick up team Alpha," the commander ordered before sitting back in his chair. This was going to be a long recovery procedure.

**Location: Testing facility**

"Are they alright?" the Director asked.

"Yes, sir," Sigma replied. "Omega has broken protocols to be peacefully captured. Their retrieval team has been neutralized. Alpha and Beta are unharmed, but Delta and Omega are in a critical condition. They will not survive without medical treatment."

The Director got up and placed on her voice modifier and visor. It would be a long time since they saw the real world. "Let's go," she ordered. "We'll follow Alpha's and Omega's path."

**Location: Lorenzo's workshop**

Latias entered through the portal just to see an energy blade hurl right in front of her snout and stab through someone's back. She floated in place for a moment, stunned about what happened. However, her trail of thought was interrupted when her brother rammed into her back, sending both of them hurtling towards Misty, Brock, Lorenzo, and Bianca. Ash entered through just a moment later and a very happy Pikachu leapt up to his shoulder.

Lorenzo tried to untangle himself from the collision. However, everyone else was doing the same.

"Sis, move your tail fin!" Latios shouted.

"You move your wing!" Latias retaliated.

"Brock, get off me!" Misty yelled in annoyance.

"I can't! Latias is on me!" Brock yelled back. Pikachu started to get very annoyed of all of them.

"Everyone! Stop! Please!" he yelled but all he received was even more shouts as people and Pokémon tried to untangle arm from claw. His electric pouches started to crackle as he built up electricity. Brock and Misty both stopped immediately when they heard the death defying crackle. Ash sweat dropped as he turned his head to his shoulder to see a very, very agitated electric mouse. There was no turning back now.

With a sudden burst of light, a lightning bolt shot out from the small mouse and shocked everyone in the room. Of course, many of Alto Mare's citizens were already asleep and did not notice this. Those who did wondered what their neighbors were doing.

The group groaned as they tried to wipe off the soot from their skin/ feathers. Just when the situation seemed to rise, Latios and Latias started to argue once more as siblings do. Bringing someone back from the dead didn't change them at all.

"Brother, move! You're crushing me!" Latias whined. Latios frowned and tried doing so but received several slaps from her tail fins. He grew agitated and softly nipped Latias' ear. She complained once more and the struggle started over again. Lorenzo was reminded of the situation and knew that he had to do something.

_Keep calm…_ more shouts.

_Stay calm…_ even more arguing. He had to help Blu now. He knew he was losing his patience.

"Everyone be quiet!" Lorenzo yelled, his voice reverberating through the small workshop. Everyone shut their mouths, even the dragons. "Latios, Latias, please levitate off of us," Lorenzo directed calmly. They did so, knowing it was not a good idea to go against him when he was angry. The rest of the humans untangled themselves quite easily.

Lorenzo stood up and walked over to turn light a match for the lantern. Alto Mare was meant to be an old town so many new technologies were often disapproved by the citizens. An exception, however, was the Pokémon center.

As soon as the match was struck, everyone was able to see the situation. There were the bodies of two heavily armed soldiers lying on the ground with energy blades sticking from their backs. One was at the entrance to the Secret Garden and one at the regular entrance to the workshop.

Their eyes trailed across the wall to see a hole made by a large caliber rifle. Ash was sickened but reluctantly followed the trail of blood down to its source. There lay Blu's body, accumulating blood into a pool from where he was hit. All the teenagers recoiled and Latias immediately shut her eyes, trying hard not to throw up. Latios and Lorenzo just grimaced.

Lorenzo was quick to move and hauled Blu's body over his shoulder and started walking towards the Secret Garden. He walked over to the same pond the guard's hovercraft had come out of and carefully laid Blu next to it. He then turned around to the group and frowned. "Where's the other girl?" he asked.

"She followed right behind Blu. I don't know what happened after she left the portal," Ash replied. Lorenzo hummed in deep thought. He had a slight suspicion. It had something to do with the time gear…

Bianca stopped and turned to her grandfather. She was very worried, as was everyone else. "How is Latios back?" she wondered. "Will everything be over after this is over?" Her thoughts were interrupted as a smaller version of the guards' hovercraft started emerging from the pond. Fortunately, the craft emerged just next to the larger hovercraft and didn't cause a collision. The entire group tensed as soon as they spotted the familiar "R" on its sleek, black coat of paint. Ash's, Pikachu's, and Brock's eyes all widened as the Director stepped out. They immediately knew who she was.

**Location: Atios Island- Several years ago…**

Rei stumbled out from the portal into a dark and silent room. Looking around, she found herself surrounded by blazing lines of blue energy on black walls, similar to the ones she had spotted during her trip through the secret hallway. Rei was able to find several steps that lead up to a door but found it locked. She transformed and tried ramming but was repelled by some sort of field. Rei sighed and transformed back into human from. She could only wait for something to happen.

**Location: Secret Garden**

"Pikachu! Use thunderbolt, quick!" Ash called out. Pikachu already knew his plan. With a quick charge, he shot out the largest bolt he could muster through all the anger bubbling through him. The Director didn't have any time to react before the long bolt struck her. Pikachu didn't stop at that single bolt, however. He relentlessly kept shocking her over and over again, even after the Director had collapsed. Latias gasped in shock and looked at the young trainer only to see him filled with pure rage. This wasn't the Ash they knew.

The Director groaned as she tried to get up once more. Suddenly, her voice modifier on her neck broke, shattering into millions of small pieces. She cursed silently. She had to talk but she knew that she couldn't give herself away. After being struck by the twentieth thunderbolt attack, she knew she had enough. She gathered the little energy to press the small, hidden button on her v-shaped visor to activate her built in microphone. "Sigma," she whispered hoarsely into the mic. "Neutralize them."

No sooner than she said that simple sentence, a black figure in thick black clouds appeared behind Ash and with a simple punch, knocked him unconscious. Pikachu quickly noticed the situation of his trainer and aimed a thunderbolt at his attacker. The lightning, however, simply bounced off of Sigma. He quickly counter-attacked by raising his gauntlet and shot a purple beam at Pikachu, instantly turning the electric mouse pokémon into a brown stone. Latias just floated there for a moment, trying hard to register what had happened to both of her friends. Latios had recognized the intruder much quicker and had already turned invisible. He tried to flank around him and ram him onto the ground, but somehow, Sigma had already recognized his location and shot an electric net at him. He cried out as he fell down the hill once more, just like the time all those nights ago.

"Sigma!" Lorenzo shouted. The black figure stopped attacking and stared back at the gondola worker. Lorenzo swallowed, trying his best not to show his fear. "Reset. Do only what you're here for," Lorenzo ordered. Sigma's eyes flashed from bloody red to neutral green as everything started to return to normal. Pikachu was no longer stone, the electric net had disappeared, and Ash woke up, gasping greedily for air. The black mist around the figure started to dissipate, revealing another guard, this time with entirely black armor and green optics.

As soon as Latios was free, he tried to intimidate the guard by growling. Sigma, the newly revealed guard, just stood there. Latios then started charging up a small Luster Purge. As light started to gather into a sphere, Lorenzo called him to stand down. "They have important business to do," he shouted. "Besides, he was only defending himself." Latios carefully weighed his options before flying in front of her sister. The message was clear. Do anything to harm my family and you're dead. Sigma nodded before heading off to help the Director up.

**Location: Atios Island- Several years ago…**

"Hello?" Rei called out. Her amber eyes darted left and right, desperately looking for a way out. With a closer inspection, the entire room seemed to be a weapons facility. Various knives, swords, and firearms lined the walls. They all seemed to be linked to the mysterious energy that ran throughout the walls. Suddenly, someone walked through the illusionary door. "I've been waiting for you," he said as he took off his desert cap. Two familiar armed guards followed through.

**Location: Secret Garden**

Sigma ran over to the Director's limp body and helped her up. She couldn't take too much damage after what had happened to her in the past.

"I'm fine," she tapped with her foot. She was using a tap code similar to mores code. The only difference was that it had been designed by one of the higher ups running the project. As of now, she couldn't afford using her real voice. It would betray her. She knew it. It had happened before. Latios narrowed his eyes as he tried to read their minds but found himself blocked out once more.

She turned to Lorenzo. "Shall we begin the medical procedure?" she tapped out. Lorenzo nodded in understanding while the rest of the group stood there in confusion. Ash shot the grandfather an uneasy look but decided to trust him. Besides, he didn't want to try fighting that new guard again.

The Director kneeled beside Blu's unconscious body and flipped him over to his back. With several coordinated taps on the white triangle located on the back of his hoody, three disks of pure aura formed and floated above it. Three disks, three souls. She looked past the light blue and dark green ones to focus her eyes on the dark blue disk lying at the bottom. She gently grasped it and pulled it away from the cylinder, creating a transparent version of the blue guard. Both the Director and Sigma ignored the surprised gasps from the crowd. The guard looked around desperately for help.

"Director, are you there?" he asked. His voice was no longer similar to Sky's but was now more unique and like a child's.

The Director pressed the button on her visor, activating her communication once more. "Yes, I am," she whispered in so soft of a voice that not even the dragons' sensitive hearing could detect it. "How is your position?"

The blue guard looked around his surroundings. Right now, he was just a projection and could not see anything in the outside world, so he was currently looking around in Blu's mind. He did a quick psychic scan before replying. "Not good. Omega and Delta are both down. We'll probably need a regeneration unit," he said. He looked around a little more before whimpering. "There's something or someone else in here. You have to-" he was cut off as something attacked him and the transmission ended. All three disks shattered. The Director cursed. She didn't have time now. They were on the verge of losing their best friend.

"Sigma! Get a revival unit!" she shouted. She quickly turned to Ash. "Go get some revival potions. Lorenzo, get something to grab the bullet out from." Sigma made a mad dash back toward the hovercraft, while at the same time, feeling the exact pain being put on Blu. Lorenzo quickly ran over to his workshop to grab his carving knife since it was all they had. However, Ash hesitated. Was this woman crazy? She had already attempted to kill him several times.

His trail of thought was interrupted when Blu's eyes shot open as he gasped for breath, only for his head to fall and gaze at empty space. Ash made his choice. Even though the Director was not the best person, he knew he couldn't just let someone die. This seemed the only time she was doing something good. He turned to Brock and nodded. Brock quickly set down their packing gear and Ash quickly started rummaging through the supplies, half focusing on his work, half wondering what had happened to her.

He didn't know the Director as the Director. No, everything about her was too obvious, especially that voice. He knew the Director as Pokémon Hunter J.

* * *

*If you're still confused about what happened to Rei, she time traveled back into the past.


	24. The Units of Project- X

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

Author's note: Not really a chapter of reading but still has useful information that I will use in the future.

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 24- The Units of Project- X**

* * *

The Commander carefully fingered the tablet as he read through each and every one of the unit's data. This, of course, was still in the top secret command base. Only the he and the Councilman could even look at what the tablet held. Right now, he was using it to figure out the next course of action.

…

Unit name: Alpha-2

Unit color: Dark blue

Specialty: Aura/ emotions, weapons, electronics

Personality/ background information: Very playful. Refers to his counterparts as "brothers" and "sisters". Often helps Omega stay in control.

Soul compatibility: Delta, Omega-2

History: 200 simulations, 15 live fire simulations. Created from Alpha-1 and soul fragment from Delta.

Status: Rogue/ defective

...

Unit name: Omega-2

Unit color: Dark green

Specialty: Short ranged weapons, leadership

Personality/ background information: Very hard and stubborn. Very experienced and acts as leader but is quite reckless. His past makes it hard for him to control his own emotions and choices

Soul compatibility: Delta, Alpha-2

History: 325 simulations, 15 live fire simulations. Created from Omega-1 and soul fragment from Delta.

Status: Rogue/ defective

...

Unit name: Sigma

Unit color: Black

Specialty: Espionage/ sabotage, various weapons, simulation, illusion/ camouflage, communication, close and long range combat

Personality/ background information: Always follows orders and will betray his counterparts. Personal body guard for the Director. Created from direct soul fragment from Delta.

Soul compatibility: None

History: Oversaw 625 simulations and 17 live fire simulations

Status: Rogue/ defective

...

Unit name: Beta

Unit color: Red

Specialty: Healing and emotion

Personality/ background information: Created to help keep Delta in check. Recognized as a healing unit.

Soul compatibility: Alpha-2, Delta, Sigma, Omega-2

History: 3 simulations

Status: Unknown/ assumed dead

...

Unit name: Delta

Unit color: Light blue

Specialty: All weaponry and vehicles, electronics, teleportation, espionage/ sabotage, illusion/ camouflage, communication, close and long range combat

Personality/ background information: Original soul that Sigma, Omega-2, and Alpha-2 were created from. Has maximum potential out of all units. Unfortunately, requires for the Beta unit to be removed, which has caused disastrous outcomes.

Soul compatibility: Beta, Sigma, Omega-2, Alpha-2. Sources have discovered links with other possible souls

History: 500 simulations, 1 live fire simulation.

Status: Unknown/ assumed dead

...

Unit name: Theta

Unit color: Light green

Specialty: Combat against Omega

Personality/ background information: Had a connection with Omega-1. Will be dispatched if Omega becomes a rogue unit.

Soul compatibility: N/A

History: N/A

Status: Alive

...

Unit name: Epsilon

Unit color: N/A

Specialty: N/A

Personality/ background information: N/A

Soul compatibility: N/A

History: N/A

Status: N/A

…

The Commander reviewed all the units once more. He didn't care worry about the lack of information for Epsilon. He already knew much about that specific unit. Before, Omega and Alpha were both rogue and their location was unknown. Now, they had rediscovered them along with Beta and Delta. The sergeant hurried over, reporting that Sigma and the Director had been found once more with the help of their voice finder devices. The Commander smiled. All of this was too easy. He opened his mouth and ordered for Theta to be moved to active duty.

Elsewhere in the base, Theta brushed back her green curly hair as she grinned at the new opportunity to get revenge on Omega. He owed her a lot. A sinister gleam shone out of her red eye before she left the room for the mission briefing.

* * *

*Rogue/ defective= not working as designed


	25. Theta's Decision

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 25- Theta's Decision**

* * *

**Location: Testing Facility- Many years ago…**

"How many simulations have Delta gone through?" the Commander asked.

"Exactly five hundred," the Director reported from her monitor. Sigma winced as he felt the exact pain from Delta. The Director noticed this even with how hard he tried to hide it. "We've exceeded the testing limits. Not even Omega and Alpha have gone this far," she commented with concern.

"Then we'll stop with fake simulations and start with the real fire simulations," the Commander retorted. The Director gritted her teeth. Hurting Delta would also put pain on the other units he was linked to. Sigma knew the same but orders were orders…

**Location: Atios Island- Several years ago…**

Rei's eyes widened as she started panicking. She found that her best option would to be for her to transform into her Lati form and hide in the safe cloak of invisibility. She found that she was unable to do so. Her panicked state heightened when she saw that both the green and blue guards' optics were glowing red, preventing her from changing forms or hiding. The blue psychic glow that came from the man's eyes was holding her body in place.

"W-what do you want from me?" she stammered. She could hardly keep her teeth from clattering.

The man that took off his desert cap talked. "We want to talk to you. You must watch your brother, Blu as he will learn dark things that he will try to hide from you," he cautioned. "If he manages to hide them all, they will turn him into a monster." Rei was filled with surprise but kept a grim face. Blu was her brother?

"Who are you?" she asked as her vision began to blur white.

"Sky. Tell your friends I'm Sky," was his only response. Rei's vision went dark.

**Location: Secret Garden**

Hunter J worked furiously. As soon as she got the knife, she got to work pulling out the bullet, ignoring the pained grunts coming from Sigma. Since he had a direct soul connection to Blu, he felt everything he did along with many more other features that only one could imagine. Ash hurried over with all the medical supplies he could find in Brock's bag. The Director graciously took them while everyone else worriedly looked on. Sigma came hurrying back with a large black suitcase. He opened it up to reveal a white holographic disk lying inside. He pressed several buttons on the controls to make the fragile disk levitate into the air. Hunter J carefully moved to her hands close to the disk to grab it. However, as soon as she touched it, it shattered. She cursed. After five years, none of the equipment she had for the units seemed operational. All hope was lost.

Latias saw her despaired state and floated over, ignoring the protests of her brother. '_Can I help?_' she asked.

Sigma shook his head while the Director slowly put on the last of the bandages around the wound. "The external wounds are healed. The bullet that entered through Blu was designed to destroy one's soul," Sigma explained. It was the perfect weapon against the units. It would also destroy any other fragments that had combined with that unit, but Sigma didn't say anything about that.

The Director suddenly stood up. "Let's go, Sigma. We're done," she grimly ordered before she started walking back towards the hovercraft. "He can't be saved." The group was silent.

"Hunter J, you've always tried your hardest in whatever you did," Ash started. "What makes you think that you can just give up on him?!" Hunter J was taken aback by the young trainer's words. She opened her mouth but no words came out. She had no excuse but what could she do? She had no power in this situation.

Suddenly, a portal opened up and out came with what gave the Director a glimmer of hope.

…

Rei was thrown into the smooth stone quite hard. It took her some time to regain her bearings. She realized that she was once more in the Secret Garden. The next thing she realized was her unconscious brother along with two other figures.

'_That's Sigma and the Director!_' the voice said cheerfully before disappearing once more. She stared blandly at the two figures, trying to figure out who was who.

Suddenly Sigma stood up. "Director, we have a foreign unit inbound. We need to-" he warned just before a hyper beam tore through his arm and obliterated it into millions of pieces. Sigma staggered back several steps before falling on his back.

"Sigma!" Hunter J yelled before running toward his cold, lifeless body. Rei could only stand there in shock. She had other things to worry about as a shadow ball was hurled in her direction. It made direct contact with her and she stumbled into someone's arms.

…

Theta almost took pity on Sigma and his companions. They were always so unprepared for her. She smiled as one arm grabbed Beta's waist and another held a dagger up to her throat. It was always too easy. Now to find Omega…

…

Rei tried moving but something held her still. Her own body froze stiff when she felt a sharp dagger held to her neck. She couldn't do anything now but to wait again.

…

Latios took surveyed their new intruder. It wore the same armor as the previous guards but was different in several ways. Instead of a single piece of armor, it appeared to wearing a white trench coat. Green triangular robot probes replaced the usual spherical shapes of armor that cladded the arm and leg joints. The helmet had also changed from a war helmet and gas mask to an opaque and black riot control helmet. He grimaced at what he thought the outcome could be after fighting Sigma, but this soldier was taking hostile action.

He had already turned invisible some time ago. He tried to stay as silent as possible as he crept around to her back. Theta smirked at the tactic. A holographic screen ran all the equipment she needed for any situation. She didn't move a muscle as her future sight rammed into him, causing him to yelp and lose his invisibility. With a simple thought, she hurled him to the other side of the garden with psychic, immediately fainting him.

Theta didn't even bother as Pikachu's thunderbolt came flying at her with its electricity lighting up the dark area. The robotic drone on her elbow detached and levitated briefly to absorb the bolt before reattaching. Pikachu's jaw dropped. Bianca glanced over at her grandfather, hoping it was another messed up greeting. His grimace told her otherwise.

Latias had flown over to her brother and started to use recover on him. The eyes behind Theta's riot helmet glowed blue briefly before stopping. The psychic attack had forced her into a deep sleep.

"Alright Director, you have one chance to tell me what I want to know," Theta demanded coolly. "Where's Omega?"

Hunter J pointed at Blu. Theta's sympathy kicked in but was quickly ignored by her training. She did feel enough to make a decision. She released her grip around Rei. "Hurry up and do what you have to," she ordered. The Director quickly called for Rei to come to her. She was stunned at first but then quickly obliged.

She knelt beside the Director, who motioned for her to put her hands on the white triangle on Blu's back. "Just focus your energy into your hands. Have them spread apart," Hunter J directed. Rei did just that and was surprised to see a ball of aura forming. "Good, Rei, good. Now try to meld that into the triangle." With a little more effort, the white ball of energy was forced into Blu's back. His entire body shot up and started gasping for breath.

Theta watched in amusement as she also reconsidered what the Director had said. "So that's Beta's new name. I wonder what Delta's is," she thought to herself.

Rei leaned back and panted several times in exhaustion. Once Blu has sat up, he was immediately engulfed in Rei's hug. He hugged her back as several tears fell onto his back, knowing that she could've lost her brother just then. Theta smiled at the sight but remembered her mission. She was to kill Omega and anyone else that got in her way. She knew that both Alpha and Omega were currently residing inside Delta's soul. She lifted her dagger to prepare to throw the killing blow but then stopped. A wave of both an unfamiliar and familiar emotion washed through her. Was it… love? No, it couldn't be. She had been through enough simulations to forget it… right? Uncertainty flooded her mind as she pondered on what to do next.

Theta bit her lip and dropped the dagger. In an instant she was gone and running, wishing that her own father had shown her the same feeling.

…

The Director heard the clink of metal hitting stone and turned to see that Theta had gone. She smiled sadly. Theta still had several things to learn about emotion. Perhaps one day when she wasn't so hostile, Beta and Alpha could help. She turned around and to her surprise, saw new recovery disk lying in the suitcase. Alongside it read a note:

...

_I don't think I'm ready. No, not yet. Give me some time to think myself over, and then maybe I'll come to complete my mission and face Omega._

_..._

Hunter J smiled. She took the new disk and carefully placed it into Sigma's chest. His body glowed for a brief moment before time began to reverse and his arm was as it once was. His optics shone with the familiar green once more, lighting up the unknown journey that was laid before both of them.

…

Blu rubbed the back of his head several times and then his arm. It felt sour for some reason.

_'You got hit by a bullet,'_ the blue guard informed him. Then, in a more cheerful manner, he explained, _'The Director came and then there was this ambush and then-'_

_'I believe that's enough. I don't think he likes for you to fill up his thoughts,' _the green guard chided him. Blu couldn't help but chuckle to himself while the blue guard pouted once more.

"Is something wrong? You seem a little dazed," Rei asked worriedly as she hurried over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine," Blu replied with a warm smile before gently brushing her hand aside. Meanwhile, the guardians of Alto Mare began to stir.

The Director got up. "I believe that now our job here is done," Hunter J stated. Sigma had already packed up the suitcase and was heading toward the hovercraft.

Blu's concern shot up. "What about the retrieval team?" he asked in concern. He didn't want them to be lurking around in the city.

Sigma closed his eyes and quickly teleported them back to where they came from. He nodded back to Hunter J. She looked back at the disguised Eon. "They've been handled," she replied before heading off with Sigma.

Blu felt a sudden pain come from his chest as if something was trying to get out. Suddenly the pain eased for a moment as a blue flash of light appeared next to him to form a holographic version of the blue guard. "Have a nice trip, Director!" he called out as the smaller hovercraft sunk back into the canals.

"Alpha," the green guard's voice spoke. "What do you think you're doing?"

The blue guard, Alpha, opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by everyone staring at him. He knew he had screwed up big time. A green light appeared as a holographic form of the green guard appeared. Judging from his state, he wasn't very happy.

Lorenzo pinched his eyebrows. "Blu, what is going on?" he asked.

"Can we talk about this later?" Blu asked, desperate to avoid another argument. Lorenzo sighed but agreed. They were all pretty tired after what had happened. They unanimously agreed that everything would be explained tomorrow. Ash's stomach rumbled loudly and everyone laughed. Perhaps the first thing they could worry about was dinner.

**Location: Testing Facility- Many years ago…**

"Lock Beta up in sector A-5. Don't let Delta get anywhere near her," the Commander ordered. "Prepare Delta for transport to the testing chamber,"

The tube opened and Delta stepped out. It had been years since he had experienced the open air. The armed escorts led him to the electrically activated titanium doors. They opened and Delta was forced through.

The entire room was lined with large white tiles. On the side opposite of him stood two other units who returned his steely gaze. Overhead was a digital scoreboard and an observation room for the Councilman, Sigma, the Director, and the Commander.

There was a whine of the microphone before the Commander spoke. "There is a thirty second delay time for each side to choose their weapons. Delta, your skills will be tested against Omega-2 and Alpha-2. Do not disappoint me," he informed before sitting back into his chair. Everyone else in the room was standing monitoring the stats of every decision Delta made. The future of the project rode on his success.

As usual, Alpha and Omega both drew their favorite weapons. The aura bone rush staff and energy blades, respectively.

Delta looked down at his weapons selection and picked up the pistol. It would be all he needed for his plan. The alarm sounded, signaling the beginning of the match.

Alpha and Omega both rushed toward him, zigzagging at high speeds. Delta knelt down and fired a few shots from his pistol. The bullets simply bounced off of their reinforced armor but it would serve its purpose. He quickly emptied the clip and threw the weapon away.

Inside the observation room, the Commander's raised his eyebrow in surprise. "Sigma, what is he doing?" he asked.

Sigma scrolled through the rows of information on his tablet. "None of our tactics, sir. I think he's making his own," he replied. The Commander frowned at this revelation.

Omega was the first to charge at Delta. His arm shot out with the blade, threatening to cut his throat. Delta back flipped onto the wall. He then used it as a springboard to launch himself back at his attacker. Right at the moment of impact, Delta used Omega's shock to steal one of his blades from him. Both of them landed on their feet.

Alpha came charging at him from the side. Delta raised his hand and a psychic attack broke the bone rush staff and sent him flying back into the wall. Omega took this chance to try to attack, but Delta had seen this coming and quickly dodged out of the way. The two dueled with the same weapons. Neither side gained or lost any ground for a while. Suddenly, Omega lost his grip and as a consequence, received a blade through the chest. His unconscious body slumped to the ground.

Back in the observation room, the Commander was smiling with glee. They had found their perfect soldier at last.

The perfect soldier, however, wasn't going to stay perfect for long. Delta quickly ripped apart the energy blades and took out their main power source. He then ran to the titanium doors and clipped them on. They would serve as EMPs. With a small crackle, the doors opened. The Commander's face fell. Delta was trying to escape again.

With a single code, the entire facility was under lockdown. All the doors leading to the outside world were sealed shut. However, Delta wasn't going to the outside world. He was going to sector A-5. The makeshift EMPs overloaded and fried all the electronics within the facility, forcing the backup generators to turn on. The entire facility was filled with an eerie red glow that night as riot control teams rushed through the hallways hunting down Delta.

…

Delta ran from shadow to shadow, trying his hardest not to be spotted. There! He found the room that held his dear sister, Beta. He moaned in despair when he realized that it was locked by another titanium door and psychic shield created by one of the backup generators. It didn't matter now. He had come too far to stop. He tried his psychic attack but found himself repelled by the shield. He kicked himself for not taking a stronger weapon to blast down the door. He knew that he still couldn't leave for his own escape. His sister would be trapped in the cryogenic chamber forever, waiting for someone to free her from her icy prison. He couldn't bear to think of it like that. He simply couldn't and wouldn't live with that. They both had to be free.

He charged up from the wall and tackled against the door. The force of impact was great enough to just open the door a creak. Delta smiled and took his mask off to wipe the blood from his face. He charged up another tackle and rammed into door once more. After the repeated nightmares in all the simulations he was trapped in, this felt like nothing. He rammed the door again. It bulged a little. He smiled as he felt the cold bite his body. He rammed again. And again. And again. And many more times. The toll of exhaustion was starting to add up. He heard shouts coming from the riot teams as they rushed toward his position.

All his muscles ached. He sighed and leaned against the broken door as he saw 4 figures rushing towards him. He tried to stand up but found that he had lost all energy to do so. His mind slipped into the void of unconsciousness once more.


	26. The Meeting

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

A/N: Well, an entire month with no update... I'm really sorry about that guys. I've been really busy with school so I'm getting barely any time to write.

Anyways, I've decided that after this, I'll be renovating the short chapters (should be 1-10) so that they fit my current length. The plot will be the same, it'll just be longer and more descriptive. I also need to go back and correct the numerous mistakes I had in my Christmas rush chapters... whoops. Well... let's just get started. Blu's adventure continues!

**Chapter 26- The Meeting**

* * *

**Location: Bianca's house**

The entire group was tired and no one could deny that. After the incident, they had all trudged (or flew) back to Bianca's house for dinner. Latios was somewhat surprised when Blu had transformed into his Pokémon form. He was even more surprised when the figures that had popped up had suddenly disappeared but decided to save all the questions for later.

Brock was currently helping Lorenzo with cooking dinner, and Ash couldn't help but wonder what they were cooking. Everything seemed at peace as they had their midnight meal.

…

"Dinner's done!" Brock called out as he placed the food down on the table. Bianca helped set the Pokémon food on the ground. Of course, Ash was the first to dig into his food.

On the floor, the Pokémon were both eating and chatting. Well, most of them were. Rei was fitting it quite well with the others and seemed to enjoy her first time meeting them. Blu, on the other hand, was being quite reclusive. He was still mourning for his guardian. Sky was the only person Blu knew and the only one who could understand him. He was always there to comfort him when he needed to be and the only one Blu would trust.

"It's been quite the day, hasn't it?" Pikachu asked to no one in particular. Everyone nodded.

Rei turned to Blu and saw that he hadn't touched his food at all. "What's wrong?" she asked. Her voice snapped him out of his pondering.

"I've been… thinking," Blu replied vaguely. There was also the fact that he didn't know how to eat Pokémon food as he just discovered his true form yesterday. That, however, wasn't something he was ready to admit.

Rei nodded her head in agreement. "I've been too, but you know that we have to move on, right?" she said. Blu could've sworn that her lips had moved a little longer to mouth "brother". Blu nodded. Just so much had happened today.

Suddenly, he transformed and stood up. "I think I'll go for a walk," he said abruptly before heading out the door. Rei was silent. She needed time alone to think too.

…

Blu had run the entire way back to the Secret Garden. It was nice to be free and to feel the wind rush past his face. It also felt lonely. He ran over to the Soul Dew. It was supposed to be holding his master's, but now, it felt empty. His master had taught him how to create a temporary Soul Dew that didn't have a soul inside. Blu had always wondered how his master did it but never questioned his instructions. Now, he knew that Sky had once become a Soul Dew. How he had traveled around and raised him after he died was questionable, but Blu didn't want to bother right now. All of a sudden, shiny sparkle in the dark air caught his eye. He reluctantly tore his gaze from the jewel and carefully approached the object.

As he approached, a miniature holographic version of the blue guard, Alpha, appeared beside him. His height was just 3 inches and appeared to be floating there in space next to his shoulder. Blu carefully stooped down to pick up the object and carefully examined it. It seemed to a black dagger of some sort with green lines of energy that ran through it into its point. Unbeknownst to him, it was the same dagger that Theta had dropped.

Suddenly, Blu felt his body wrench backwards as pain stabbed his entire body. Then, the mysterious pain had left just as quickly as it appeared. "Alpha, what was that?" Blu asked as he panted for breath. He only knew his name through what the green guard had called him many times.

Alpha paused a moment to search through Blu's mind. "It's Omega," Alpha said. "Something about that dagger troubles him."

"Omega's the green guard, right?" Blu asked.

"Yea… though he's been quiet since we've arrived here at the Secret Garden for some reason," Alpha clarified. His usual energy and playfulness had gone.

Blu's face grew grim. "Tell him to come out," Blu ordered.

Alpha nodded. "I'll try. He's usually quite stubborn," he responded before fading into a blue light and disappearing. After a few moments, two lights appeared, revealing miniature versions of the guards once more in their respective colors.

"What do you want?" Omega asked gruffly as he crossed his arms.

"What is important here?" Blu asked.

Omega had been taken off guard by this question but quickly regained his cool. "Be more specific," he demanded.

Blu swallowed as he tried to summon his courage. He knew that Omega wasn't the type to mess with, especially that now he was a part of Blu. He had already taken over his body once without his permission. "What does it have to do with you?" he finally asked while showing the dagger.

For a moment, Omega's emotion was unreadable. The next, rage filled his entire body, and he gave a blood curling scream. Blu jumped back at the outrage, but Alpha stood his ground and started walking forward. He put his hand on his shoulder and his aura caused Omega to calm down significantly. A moment passed in silence before Omega spoke again.

"Sorry. Can we talk about this tomorrow? It's not something I like to discuss about," he muttered. Blu nodded. "Please, put that dagger in your satchel," Omega requested. Blu was somewhat taken aback but quickly obliged to his request. Omega seemed so much calmer.

When he opened the satchel, several new things caught his eye. He found his things along with several others that didn't belong to him, especially the time gear. He shot the guards a questioning look. "When we soul spliced with you, our inventory also came," Alpha explained. Blu simply nodded and decided not to ask how. He was too tired to do so.

He heaved on his satchel and walked over to the Soul Dew pedestal. Blu sat down next to it and sighed while gazing up into the sky like on all those nights with his guardian. Omega and Alpha both felt the same way.

Later when Latios, Latias, and Rei came in to sleep in the Secret Garden, they noticed that Blu had fallen asleep near the Soul Dew. Rei smiled at the sight before following going to find a sturdy tree to sleep on. They both had been through a lot. They both had to move on.

**Location: Testing facility- Many years ago…**

The four figures quickly rushed to Delta's side. They were the Director, Sigma, Omega, and Alpha. They had all been given orders to eliminate Delta and to destroy his soul from the plane of existence. All of them had the equipment to but none of them moved a hand. The entire group was silent.

The Director kneeled down to Delta's crippled body. She had enough with this project. She had enough with the Commander constantly manipulating each and every unit until they were under his control. The Director might've been quite a Pokémon hunter, but she still had a moral code.

She pulled out her unit repair kit as all of the retrieval teams and the higher ups had one. She quickly opened the kit and pulled out a white disk. Then, she carefully placed it into Delta's chest. His body glowed, a sure sign of healing the many bones he had broken in his struggle.

Sigma just stood there, baffled. They were to kill Delta, not heal him. He was to also kill anyone who interfered, as always, but the Director had just helped Delta. Was he to kill her now too? He didn't want to think of that. The Director was his top priority but he had also received a direct order. What was he to do?

The Director simply placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do what you think is best," she advised. She turned to the other units. "You too. Go ahead and follow his orders and kill Delta and me or help me get Delta out of this nightmare."

Alpha and Omega both looked at each other before nodding. They were in. None of them liked to be cooped up in simulation after simulation, never getting to see the outside world. Sigma pondered a little further before deciding. Several seconds passed in the tense atmosphere as Sigma made his choice that would determine his own future.

"I'm coming too, Director," he simply said. The Director was shocked as Sigma had never broken a single order that had been given. "Besides," he continued. "I never said who I was going to follow orders from." The Director simply chuckled at his clever logic.

"Alright," she said. "You'll follow what I say if we want to escape this prison, alright?" The three rogue units nodded. "My first order is for you to take your armor off," she commanded. The units did so hesitantly as they had never taken it off and had never wondered about their true form. The Director simply smiled at their shock.

**Location: Bianca's house**

Everyone had gathered early in the morning to discuss yesterday's events. Lorenzo had made sure that all the blinds in the house were closed so no one could see the legendary Pokémon. All the humans sat in seats around the dining room table while the Pokémon floated just behind them. The guards reappeared once more in their miniature forms, floating alongside Blu.

Bianca was the first to speak. "I guess that we all have a lot to explain and hear," she whispered.

Blu and Rei were the first ones to go, explaining how their masters had raised them from outside world contact for the past five years. Latios felt tears stinging his eyes when he realized that his father was still alive during the time he and his sister were born. He was just… never there.

"But how?" Latios asked incredulously. Blu could only shrug in response. He never questioned what Sky told him to do or wondered how he did some things. He just went along with it. Latios glanced over at Latias, who nodded in confirmation. She had met him just once before he became the Soul Dew again to be used to resurrect Latios. Rei felt a little uncomfortable knowing that she was the only one with the most recent contact with him but didn't know how to explain it to everyone else.

"And then there was the kidnap of Latias…" Lorenzo muttered softly, not wanting to send the large dragon into an all-out rage.

_'By who?'_ Latios asked. Latias slowly turned and pointed at the two miniature guards.

He immediately took a hostile stance towards them and started growling, sending the humans jumping back a meter. The dragon had quite the split personality. _'What for?'_ he demanded. He raised his claw to strike.

"We did so Latias could see your father one last time before he finally passed away," Alpha replied calmly. "As you can see, she is safe and sound." Latias sent a telepathic message to her only family member, reassuring that she was fine. The overprotective brother sighed in relief and lowered his hand. All the humans sighed and sat back in their chairs.

"What happened through the portal?" Bianca asked curiously. Ash opened his mouth to explain all about the reawakening of Arceus and the legendary meeting, but Omega beat him to it.

"That is something we are not allowed to share," Omega stated while glaring angrily at Ash. "All you need to know is that Latios was resurrected there."

"What happened to you two?" Misty asked to the guards. Omega and Alpha were both silent, leaving only the small Latios to explain.

Blu sighed._ 'They say that since we were all apprentices of Latios' and Latias' father, we all had a connection with him. When he truly passed away, Omega says that our souls became fragments,' _Blu recited. _'A soul fragment alone would die. They joined with me to create a full soul that could live.' _The entire group was speechless as Blu considered how many times that the world had already tried to kill him.

_'What happened when the green lines appeared?'_ Latias asked. Blu shot an angry look over his shoulder at Omega. He still wasn't happy with what Omega did without his permission.

"Well, I had to use his body to leave the area since we had to go right then. Staying any longer would have caused disastrous outcomes," the green guard explained vaguely.

"What about the gun men?" Bianca asked. The guardians of Alto Mare quickly looked around the area as if they were here at this very moment.

Omega grimaced inside his mask. "The retrieval teams? They're after me, Alpha, Blu, and Rei," he explained. "However, I doubt they will be sending another one soon." Bianca gave Lorenzo a worried look.

The gondola worker cleared his throat. "Now Omega, I know that we were both assigned something by Sky, but I want to ask you this. What do you plan on doing now?" he questioned.

"We plan on staying here," Omega promptly replied. Everyone exchanged worried glances.

"I'm afraid that we can't allow that, Omega," Lorenzo replied.

**Location: Testing facility- Many years ago…**

The two Pokémon stared at each other for a long time. Out of Alpha's suit came a Lucario, and out of Omega's suit came a Gallade. The Director chuckled at their reactions. She looked over at Sigma, who had just taken off his helmet.

"Director?" he asked while still facing the ground. "Is there a way that we can disable whatever is in my suit without taking it off?" The Director frowned. Sigma didn't want to acknowledge who he was himself as it would destroy both his spirit and individuality. Hunter J didn't scold him, but instead, simply reached down and took off the camera, tracking device, and any other gadget that had been locked on the armor. Sigma nodded in thanks and put his helmet back on.

The Director turned to the two other units. "Omega, your experienced swordsmanship came out of nature. Alpha, your aura came through the same way. They were both honed through the many drills you ran. Now, it doesn't matter who you are, just what you do," she told them hastily. "Come on, let's get out of here. Omega, if you will please break down the door." Omega spoke in response, but all that came out was his gruff, Pokémon voice. He blinked several times as he tried to adjust to what he had just heard. He quickly turned to see a silently laughing Alpha but ignored him and with a single swift swipe, broke down the titanium door leading to the cryogenic chamber. The longer blades would come in handy…

The group quickly hurried in, with Sigma and the Director dragging Delta's body. Once inside the room, Sigma immediately ran over the control panel and typed in a code, revealing Beta in a large tube. The Director immediately hauled her still stiff body out and started taking off her combat armor. Sigma followed suite and did the same with Delta. Omega and Alpha both gasped in horror when they saw who their unit counterparts were. They were just kids.

The Director brushed back Delta's blue hair and softly whispered, "Delta, may you never complete your final mission." She stood up and turned to the Omega and Alpha. They both now understood why the Director was so sick of the Commander and this project.

The Director sat down and pulled out another suitcase. On one side contained two purple holographic disks that would be essential to what happened now. The other side contained two necklaces that would be essential to helping Delta and Beta find their true family.

She carefully took both holographic disks and inserted them into Delta and Beta as she did so many other times with Alpha, Omega, and Sigma. Their bodies glowed purple for a slight moment before the light faded away.

"Sir, what was the point of that?" Sigma questioned.

"This will wipe their memory of anything in this dreaded place," the Director answered. There was a silence. Several tears fell from her eyes. She hated this project and it's Commander.

"You've been preparing for a very long time, Director," Sigma stated. She just nodded.

_'What do we do know, Director?' _Omega asked through telepathy. Alpha was doing the same with aura.

"We need to give these two names," she simply replied. The group hummed in thought while ignoring the alarm blaring outside. Their thinking was rudely interrupted when a riot control team burst into the room. Every member of that team was shocked to see the entire situation, but Alpha quickly disposed of them with an aura sphere. The Director and Sigma were quick to act and quickly carried Delta's and Beta's bodies out of the room. They had to leave the area now.

**Location: Bianca's house**

Omega and Alpha were both in a heated argument. The future of who they were assigned to protect was hanging by a thread.

"Why not?" Omega demanded. Blu felt rage building in Omega's body once more.

Lorenzo sighed. "Listen, I know that you may have trained under Sky, but we simply cannot endanger the civilians who live here," he replied. "If those retrieval teams show up again-"

"We'll take care of them," Alpha said, cutting him off. Lorenzo shook his head vigorously to make his point.

"One day, they will send someone that you won't be able to handle. Then what? What will happen to Latios and Latias? What will happen to the city and the people who live here?" Lorenzo demanded. Ash looked back at his friends for their opinion. They were all wondering the same. The entire group wanted for the smaller Eons to have someplace to live, but at the same time, was scared with all the recent attacks that had happened in the city.

Omega's anger was reaching its limit. Blu's eyes shot open as he realized what the corrupted unit was trying to do. "Alpha!" he cried out in vain. The blue guard quickly nodded and along with Omega, disappeared. Blu suddenly lost all his powers and fell to the hard ground. His eyes squeezed shut and the green lines flickered on and off on his body as Omega and Blu both struggled for control.

Rei floated over and nudged Blu several times, begging him to wake up. The green lines faded away and Blu finally opened his eyes and levitated with some help of her psychic. Alpha reappeared just moments after.

"Sorry," the blue guard apologized sincerely. "Omega's been having quite a rough time ever since we arrived here." He shook his head at Omega's tactic. He wanted to take the entire city hostage with the Soul Dew, the entire opposite of what their master had wished for. Alpha knew too well that when Omega was raging, he often wasn't rational. Lorenzo knew the same.

"So, Alpha, what is your idea?" Lorenzo asked. The guardians of Alto Mare looked at each other fearfully, hoping that Alpha had a better idea than what Omega did.

The blue guard turned to Latios. "What do you know about the Soul Dew?" he asked.

_'Not much,'_ Latios admitted sheepishly. _'All I knew was that it contained the soul of our father and helps keep the water here. I never really knew much beyond that.'_ Latios stopped. If he was here and Sky had passed away, who was the Soul Dew? Lorenzo saw Latios' panic and quickly stepped in front of the door, blocking his way.

"Wait, Latios! You must not leave!" he shouted.

"But the Soul Dew!" Latios kept crying in high pitched coos as he desperately tried to find another way out of the house.

"It's fine!" Lorenzo shouted. Latios stopped his rush to think about the situation further. He closed his eyes before breathing in and out several times. There was no giant tsunami. There were no evil kidnappers. He still didn't want peek into the outside world.

_'What's in the pedestal?'_ he finally asked as if the question would annihilate the universe.

"A Soul Dew," Lorenzo replied calmly.

_'Of who?'_ Latios asked. He dreaded to know. Had it been some innocent Lati that was just wandering by that had to sacrifice its life?

Lorenzo considered the question a little further before answering. He had seen what Blu had done. "He's right here," Lorenzo answered. Latios opened his eyes to see that Lorenzo was pointing to Blu. A brief memory reappeared as he recalled what he had seen as he entered the Secret Garden last night. The Soul Dew was still there.

_'How?'_ Latios questioned. It felt that he was experiencing surprise after surprise.

Blu smiled. _'You learn a thing or two when you're training under him,'_ he simply said. Latios smiled back at the smaller Eon Pokémon, silently thanking him.

Alpha cleared his throat. "Perhaps we could alter and use the Soul Dew's power to keep us hidden," he suggested. "The retrieval teams wouldn't be able to find where we are. That's how our master did it back on the island."

Latios looked at Lorenzo uncertainly before replying. _'Will there be consequences in changing the Soul Dew?' _he asked worriedly. Alpha shook his head back and forth.

"I can do it right now to minimize the chance of being spotted. That might be the best idea," Alpha suggested. The entire group nodded. Last thing anyone wanted was someone getting hurt.

The blinds and doors opened as the group headed out. Blu and Rei smiled, both knowing that they had a life ahead of them.

* * *

And that's the end of the first plot curve. It might take me some time to get the next chapter up, but when I do, I hope you guys will enjoy it. It's already work in progress. Thanks for reading!


	27. Day to Day

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

Surprise that it came out earlier than expected? No? Yay? I ran out of words... Let's get started!

Well... this is going to be a long chapter...

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 27- Day to Day**

* * *

Before long, a week had passed since the meeting.

The modifications of the Soul Dew had gone briefly and easily. Alpha had controlled Blu's body for a short time to alter the jewel (after much protesting and arguing). The Commander couldn't send another retrieval team as that would strike too much terror and bring attention to his plans. Currently, the Soul Dew kept the water stable in the city and masked the exact location of the quartet.

As for retrieval team Alpha, they had been teleported back to the Command Base where they had been debriefed. They were too vital to be punished.

As soon as the dock had been repaired, Ash and his friends had headed out back to Pallet Town to plan for their next journey. Of course, like last time, Latias wouldn't let him go without a secret thank you kiss…

Theta's location was still unknown. In her mission briefing, she was to return back to the Commander's Base, but she had instead defied that order. That had angered the Commander as that made one more rogue unit. Now, only Epsilon remained loyal to him. Omega had yet to explain the origins of the dagger she had dropped.

With the Commander out of their lives, Blu and Rei could continue their future. Of course, that didn't mean that it would be easy…

…

The sound of wood hitting wood echoed through the Secret Garden as Blu and Omega fought each other. Both Omega and Alpha had been ordered by their master to continue Blu's training even after he had passed away, so they had taken temporary physical forms by borrowing the life energy in the Soul Dew to do so. For Blu, it felt like the old days all over again.

Latios winced as he heard Omega strike Blu with the wooden training stick. The disguised Eon quickly recovered and brought up his own staff to deflect his opponent's weapon. The duo was kept in that struggle for a several moments with neither one wanting to let the other gain the advantage. Suddenly, Omega thrust his right hand forward and seized Blu's staff. Using the element of surprise, the green guard threw the staff away and rammed his stick into the small Eon's chest, knocking him into the ground.

"That's enough," Latios called out. He had been told that according to his father's instructions, he was to oversee Blu's and Rei's training.

Omega nodded and offered a gloved hand to help Blu up. Rei quickly rushed over from her position near the Soul Dew to help the staggering Latios keep his position but found it hard as his legs gave out. He lay on the soft grass for a moment, unable to feel any part of his body due to the pain shooting throughout it.

Omega kneeled down and in his hands began forming a sphere of pink energy. The move in particular was heal pulse, and it had been the only move that the others had seen Omega and Alpha use. Blu groaned as the pink energy began to run inside his body, patching up the wounds he had received during the drill. Knowing that it would take a long time, Omega called for his partner to come help. Instead of training with them as he was supposed to, Alpha had been playing around the garden with the few things he could find. Startled by the sudden voice, he accidently jumped off of the swing and into one of the ponds.

Omega sweat dropped. "Can someone go help him?" he asked. Latias nodded and flew into the pond and carried out a near drowned Alpha. The blue guard coughed and gagged as water rushed out of his mask before running over to help Omega with his own heal pulse.

_'I wish there was some way I could get the water off my fur,'_ Alpha complained in a private psychic channel to Omega.

_'It was your own foolishness that led you into this position. The only one you have to blame is yourself,'_ Omega retorted. He turned to the rest of the Eon Pokémon. "He'll be fine. You can leave him here now," he told them. Latios and Latias both nodded before flying away, but Rei lingered a little longer. She still wondered if what Sky had said that week ago was true. Was Blu really her brother?

Everyone turned their heads as Bianca came through the workshop, already done with her daily trip to the market. She smiled as the Eon duo flew over happily petted their heads but grimaced at the sight of the smaller Latios. She, for one, disapproved his abusive training. Just how much harder was his true task?

…

**Location: Somewhere in Alto Mare…**

Theta landed gracefully on one of the rooftops and double checked to make sure her invisibility cloak was activated. All she knew was that she had to make it to the Director or be hunted down by the Commander. In just a few seconds, her presence was gone.

…

**Location: Command Base**

"Epsilon?" the Commander asked, knowing that he was safe in the dark, isolated room.

"Yes sir?" Epsilon replied quietly.

"What is the update on our… enemies?" he demanded curtly.

A holographic form of Epsilon formed in a purplish haze of light as his claws flew across numerous holographical data screens, quickly analyzing each one of them with a single glance. The figure turned back toward the Commander and saluted- or tried to in the best way he could. "The exact locations of the Director along with the units Sigma, Delta, Beta, Omega, and Alpha remain unknown. I do believe that the general location of the units Delta, Beta, Omega, and Alpha is the city of Alto Mare," Epsilon reported. The Commander nodded. "As for the Director and Sigma, I believe they are manipulating the laws of time and space to assist avoiding their capture. However, I have discovered the general location of Theta and am currently awaiting our next course of action."

The Commander put his hand up to his chin as he thought. One wrong move could alert everyone, including the Legendary Council. At least they had enough firepower to wipe an entire city off the map. After a few moments of pure silence, he spoke. "Have retrieval team Alpha put on standby and move teams Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, and Foxtrot into active duty," he ordered.

"Affirmative. Moving team Alpha into the cryogenic chamber for future deployment. Awakening teams Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, and Foxtrot from their chambers," Epsilon reported as he pressed several of the many buttons of the complex super computer that operated the entire base. The Commander turned to leave. "Sir?" Epsilon asked while his back still faced the Commander as he checked through the virtual system. "May I say something?"

"Yes Epsilon?" the Commander responded with a hint of surprise. Epsilon never talked much.

"Thank you. Thank you for saving me from my brother," Epsilon said. He spat out the last word as angrily as possible.

"You're welcome," the Commander replied nonchalantly before heading out the high security doors. They shut layer after layer, leaving Epsilon in the deep prison of confinement and isolation like he had been in for billions of years. He didn't feel anything. He only had one objective. Vengeance on his brother, and he would destroy anything that got in his way, even his former friends.

**Location: Testing Facility**

"Director, I have news that Theta wants to defect," Sigma reported as he handed a holographic clip board containing all the things he had been monitoring for the past week. The former Pokémon hunter's eyes scanned through the entire electronic pile in just several seconds.

"What do you suggest?" the Director asked. Sigma was caught off guard. The Commander always treated the units as a second class and had never asked for a single suggestion. Even after five years since escaping from that place, he still couldn't get used to being asked for a single suggestion.

"Perhaps we could-" Sigma started. He was cut off as another transmission reached his helmet. "Sir, they've found Theta and have sent five teams against her," he added hastily.

The Director grimaced. "What is their mission?" she inquired.

"Their primary is to exterminate Theta. Their secondary is to see if they can locate the rest of us," Sigma reported. "Director, isn't the primary goal of the retrieval teams to retrieve a unit?"

The Director nodded. "The entire situation is changing, Sigma. Epsilon is getting more and more desperate with every unit that defects." She reached down and equipped her old visor, the only true memory of her past life. "Let's go," she ordered. "We don't have time to waste."

Sigma nodded before preparing for the battle. He walked down the long hallway, each step bringing in a piece of memory of their escape from this dreaded place. He paused at the cryogenic chambers, the area that held the only possessions of his brother. His helmet lay broken and cracked, forgotten by the entire outside world. Sigma sighed before moving on. They had a lot of work to do. Besides, his brother would be better off staying dead.

**Location: Secret Garden**

"Are we done yet?" Blu whined. Omega and Alpha had taken nearly half an hour using the same move over and over again.

"Shut up or I'll make your situation worse," Omega threatened. Blu gulped, knowing that he wasn't joking.

Meanwhile on the small balcony that held the Soul Dew and stood over the rest of the garden, Bianca was having quite a pleasant time drawing. A week had passed without any incidents, showing proof that the modifications to the Soul Dew were working. Bianca gathered her thoughts together as she tried to think of something to draw. Lorenzo was currently guiding another group in a tour through the museum while everyone else was relaxing in the garden. Bianca could've gone over there to draw but decided to watch over the new Eons to make sure they didn't cause any trouble.

Her clone approached her. "Hello Latias," Bianca greeted without even sparing a glance. The surprised figure moved back several steps in surprise and Bianca knew she had made a mistake. She turned her head and instead, saw Rei in her human form. The two looked nearly identical. Since Rei couldn't walk around in the Team Rocket uniform she found in the secret hallway, Bianca had loaned one of hers. Now, the only differences between the two were the hair and eye colors, along with the presence of a beret.

Rei nodded and smiled. "Perhaps this'll help tell the difference," she told Bianca before searching through her satchel and pulling out the necklace Red Eyes had given her. She quickly separated Blu's section from it, reminding herself to return it to him at a later time.

Bianca smiled after a bit. She was still getting used to the fact that she had a "sister" that could actually talk. "That will do," she replied. Now, it was time to go back to deciding on what to draw.

"Omega, give me one reason why I'm not allowed to move a muscle," Blu demanded. He never had to go through these processes before. He just slept and in the day, he was fine.

Omega seemed to have read his mind. "The actual healing process takes much longer than what you would expect," he replied gruffly.

Blu sighed. "How much longer will it take for the bullet wound to heal?" he asked while peering over at the bandage that still covered it. The duo hadn't told him much about the people that were trying to hunt them down, so he just marked them as bad guys, oblivious to the history they held. Omega responded with a death glare. Blu shut his mouth.

"You never talked much. All you would do was try to save your sister," Alpha mumbled. Blu stopped. He had a sister? Alpha quickly noticed his slip and abruptly shut his mouth. However, Rei had also overheard his comment, and that comment only added to her suspicions.

Suddenly, Omega and Alpha stood up as flurries of light started flying off of them. With closer inspection, Blu saw that their bodies were fading. Omega noticed the small Eon's concern and quickly reassured him. "The time for our physical forms is over. We'll have to wait for the Soul Dew to recharge before we can resume being in the physical plane," Omega told him. He shot a sharp glare at Alpha, who stepped away, ashamed of himself for letting out that slip. "We won't able to come out for a while so try not to get into trouble while we're gone."

With the duo gone, Blu breathed in relief that he could finally move without their watchful gaze. He stood up and brushed off some of the leaves that had fallen on him. Rei walked over and awkwardly handed over his necklace. He nodded in thanks before putting it on. "Now what?" she asked while looking out into the peaceful sight.

"Well, my training sessions over, so I guess we can do whatever we want," Blu suggested.

Rei smiled. "Race ya!" she yelled before transforming and flying into the air in a variety of twirls. Blu simply shook his head several times before following suit.

**Location: Testing Facility- Many years ago…**

"Sigma, update on the situation," the Director ordered.

Sigma quickly scanned through the holographic information displayed in his helmet. "We have retrieval teams closing in on us. I recommend going through sector C-1 to the hangar," he reported.

The Director nodded before turning the Omega and Alpha. "We'll split up. You two take Delta to the hovercraft hangar. We'll meet back there," she told them before handing the Lucario her tactical computer. "The instructions are placed on this. Good luck." She tapped Sigma on the shoulder twice. It was time to move. The black guard raised his rifle before moving to around the corner. Gunfire rumbled throughout the entire base.

The Gallade looked over to the Lucario. "So, what are the instructions?" he asked.

Alpha quickly opened up the computer. "Apparently, the Director has sent us on a direct path down to the hangar. However, that leaves the Director's path down to the Commander's quarters," he spoke.

Omega stood up, the edges of his blades shining in the red light. "We don't have time to debate against her orders. Let's go," he commanded.

…

"Target spotted! All teams, open fire!" the commander of Bravo team called out. Instantly, the entire hallway erupted in gunfire, all of it directed a single target. Sigma raised his arm and instantly formed a protect barrier, causing the bullets to bounce harmlessly off shield. He returned fire by throwing a flash grenade he had clipped onto his belt. The only reason Sigma didn't attack with any lethal weapons was due to direct orders from the Director. Although he didn't know the reasoning, he did know to follow her word.

The Director nodded in thanks before setting Beta down behind Sigma, knowing that she would be safer in his hands for the time being. She then quickly turned around and punched a code into the reinforced door, opening the gate into the Commander's quarters. She rushed in, expecting to encounter the Commander, Epsilon, and the Councilman but was disappointed to see the entire area deserted. They had already escaped.

A second alarm went off, signaling the beginning for the self-destruction of the base.

**Location: Secret Garden**

Blu and Rei quickly ran into the Latios and Latias. So far, they had yet to come up with something to play with. "Well, Alpha's tried pretty much every single thing around here," Blu stated as he looked around the area. "I'm not sure what we can do."

Latias gained a mischievous grin as her eyes slowly fell upon her best friend. Rei had followed her gaze, and both the blue Eons looked at each other nervously. Whatever they were planning definitely wasn't good.

Bianca looked up from her drawing briefly to see that both the red Eons had disappeared. She shrugged off the anxious feeling when she decided that they were just playing… or trying to prank someone. She stopped. "Latias? Rei?" she called out suspiciously. "What are you two trying to do?" There was no reply.

Blu looked over at Latios. _'What do you think they're trying to do?'_ he asked in a private channel.

_'Latias has pulled off a number of pranks. It's hard to know which specific one she'll pull of next,'_ the larger Eon replied as he tried counting them with his claws. _'As for Rei, I have no idea. If she's anything like my sister, we're all in big trouble.' _Blu nodded. The concept of a prank was quite foreign to him as his master always taught of discipline. Perhaps Rei had been raised much differently.

Bianca felt something lift off her head and gasped shock that her beret was floating in the air but recovered when she realized it was either one of them pulling off the prank. "Very funny, Latias. Or Rei," she said in a half serious manner. "Now give it back now." The beret took off in the opposite direction of the garden, sending the artist running down the entire length of the paved sidewalk. She knelt down and panted several times before frantically waving her fist up into the air of where she supposed Latias was carrying the beret. "This isn't funny!" she yelled. Unknown to her, Latias was actually carrying the beret with psychic powers, not physically. She dropped the beret and invisibility, all at the same time bursting out in laughter. The painter snatched the beret and shot a sharp glare at the prankster.

While Bianca walked back to her drawing area, Latias flew back to the group, snickering the entire time. She paused for a moment. "Hey," she asked. "What do you think Rei is trying to do? She told me she was also doing a prank."

Blu thought for a moment and quickly caught on to her scheme. He gulped. "Hey, guys?" he asked anxiously. "How much does Bianca like her art supplies?"

"A lot. Why?" Latios replied in curiosity.

"Then we're in a lot of trouble," Blu simply told them before going invisible. Latios and Latias looked at each other in confusions but soon received their answer.

"REI!? Where is my canvas!?" Bianca shouted, her voice booming throughout the garden. The shout alone was enough to terrify several pidgeys from their roosts and send Latios and Latias into hiding. Her eyes scanned the garden, trying to figure out where the small Eon could've hidden her precious sketch.

Suddenly, she heard some rustling in the bushes and cautiously approached, not wanting to startle the little Eon. She brushed the leaves aside and came upon her canvas, along with several red fins poking out from underneath it. Bianca set her face straight before moving the giant canvas off of Rei and was taken aback at the sight. She was crying.

"Now, now, what's the matter?" she asked in a gentle voice.

_'I'm sorry. Please forgive me…'_ Rei sobbed between breaths.

Bianca took pity on the red Eon. "Alright. Just don't do it again, ok?" she asked.

Immediately, the red Eon shot up into the air in excitement and flew around the painter several times. Bianca could only chuckle at the excitement. Rei and Latias would get along nicely, although she wasn't exactly sure if that was a good thing or not.

Latios looked over at Blu. _'Yep. We're going to have some major problems,'_ he simply said.

_'I HEARD THAT!' _both Rei's and Latias' voices boomed in their heads. Latios simply sighed.

**Location: Testing Facility- Many years ago…**

"Sigma! Grab Beta and meet me at the rendezvous!" Hunter J shouted as she loaded her handheld Pokémon cannon. She couldn't let him get away now!

"Wait, Director!" Sigma called out.

"The idiot's set the entire base to self-destruct! Hurry and get out of here! Don't worry about me!" she shouted back. As if right on cue, a second alarm went off, only adding to the chaos. The retrieval teams quickly put down their weapons and started withdrawing, letting Sigma put down his shield and safely carry Beta. He continued down the path, although part of him worried for her.

…

Omega was having quite a hard time. That would be understood if you were trying to protect someone from an entire firing squad.

"Remind me why I'm not the one carrying Delta!" he shouted as he sliced another bullet in half and blocked six more with protect. With the combination of both physical and psychic powers, he could conserve his energy, at least until the enemies ran out of ammunition.

"Because you don't have hands!" Alpha shouted as he dodged to the left, nearly dodging some shrapnel from a nearby rocket blast.

"What?" the Gallade responded before putting up a protect that shielded from most of the shots.

"Well, it makes sense, right? You have swords as hands and I have paws," Alpha pointed out. "Plus, someone has to carry this heavy computer." Omega simply shook his head before unleashing a fearsome vacuum cut, knocking out the entire team.

"You do know that I can choose whether to extend the blades if I want, right?" Omega asked as he shot a glare over at the Lucario. "Plus, the blades are on my elbows."

"Wait," Alpha asked as he tilted his head into the air. "If you have swords and I have paws, how did our gloves work?" Alpha asked. Omega had no response to that.

"Let's just get a move on," he growled, desperate to avoid another one of Alpha's long, worthless conversations.

Suddenly, the computer turned on. "Someone set the base to self-destruct," the Director's voice sounded. "I'm chasing the Commander but proceed on the path as planned. I do recommend that you hurry." Alpha and Omega exchanged anxious looks until one of them spoke.

"Hey, how did our helmets work?" Alpha asked. Omega face palmed (or facebladed).

**Location: Secret Garden**

"Tag! You're it!" Latias shouted playfully as she tagged Rei before darting into the trees and turning invisible. The smaller Eon looked around frantically in surprise for a tag back. On his favorite tree, Latios wearily peeked outside with one eye. As long as he wasn't bothered, he was fine.

Blu flew aside to him. "Hey, Latios?" he asked.

The guardian of Alto Mare looked up in surprise before levitating to his full height. "Yes?" he questioned. "Do you need something?"

Blu took in several breaths before replying. There was no one else to back him up now. "You know how I just figured out how I just found out my true form last week, right?" he questioned. Latios nodded. "Well, I'm still getting used to it, and… I'm still having problems with flying."

Latios tilted his head in amusement. "So you want me to help you with it, correct?" he finished. Blu nodded. "Have you ever had any other thoughts than training?"

Blu paused for a moment before shaking his head. "No, not really," he replied.

Latios frowned at this comment. Was this how his father had raised Blu? "Well, in this case, I'll help," Latios said helpfully and psychically shoved Blu as hard as he could. The little Eon staggered through the air for several moments before regaining his stability.

"What was that for!?" Blu yelled.

Latios simply smirked. "I'm helping you train, of course," he replied before psychically grabbing his entire body and spinning him again.

"This-isn't-funny!" Blu yelled between spins. He quickly righted himself once more by using psychic on the wind around him. He was getting quite dizzy.

"That's a new way to use psychic," Latios observed. His psychic powers reached out once more…

…Only to be blocked by Blu's own barrier. Both of them locked in psychic combat for several seconds. However, Latios started losing his ground and as a consequence, was shot back several meters. He winced as he felt the attack stab throughout his body and set his face straight. Perhaps Blu would need to be taught a lesson.

"What about we have a duel?" he asked.

The smaller Eon's face was filled with surprise. "I-I don't know," he staggered uncertainly. "I've never had a battle in my true form." He paused for a moment as his mind scrambled for excuses. "Plus, I don't know if Alpha and Omega would allow it."

Latios thought for a moment as he tried to work around what he had said. "Well, those two do want your training to continue on, correct?" he inquired. Blu nodded. "It makes sense that I would help you with your Pokémon form." Blu fumbled his claws around. The offer was tempting. He could learn new moves, something he was quite desperate in. He frowned in that thought. None of the other Eons knew any moves, so the battle would mainly depend on psychic and physical strength. With his mind decided, he turned back and nodded.

The first blow knocked him out.

**Location: Rooftop- Testing Facility- Many years ago…**

"Halt! Don't move," the Director ordered as she raised her Pokémon cannon. Her target was the trio of the Commander, Councilman, and Epsilon. While she was unsure of one of her targets, she knew that she was willing to pull the trigger on the other two. Her cannon couldn't kill, but it would hurt a lot if the golden cement stuck onto anything.

The Councilman was the first to acknowledge her presence and brought up his own gauntlet against her, although she swore she saw his aim quiver a bit. With a quick glance, she recognized it was one of the standard issue Pokémon pincher series gauntlets. The purple beam would be effective at controlling Pokémon, but would be useless against humans; perhaps it would cause several seconds and a mild headache.

The Commander calmly turned around, his coat flapping in the calm breeze. The full moon was shining, giving a clear illumination on the scene that was to unfold. "I see that you've finally betrayed us," the Commander said calmly as he knelt down to pet Epsilon's white fur. Epsilon growled. "We've predicted your movements."

"I have been too, but I've never thought that through all my years of working with you that you would just throw away our progress that easily!" Hunter J retorted.

Epsilon and the Commander looked at each other in confusion. "What do you mean?" the Commander asked suspiciously. The Director was shocked but quickly made sure her face didn't show any hint of surprise. How could they not know the initiation of the self-destruction of the testing facility? Only she and the council knew about the code. Of course, the council was composed of Epsilon, the Commander, and… the Councilman. Through the many tests they had run through before, he had expressed many of the same feelings for the units as she had yet never acted against his superiors. Had this been his first act? Is that why his aim was still trembling? Was he part of the final assignment too?

Realization struck her. The teams below would have received an automatic transmission and had already started evacuating, leaving the rogue units plenty of safety to escape on the hovercrafts. Someone had tampered with the Commander's and Epsilon's communication lines. She couldn't let them figure out.

Her cannon fired.

**Location: Secret Garden**

Latios and Blu both charged at each other with a tackle attack, gathering all the speed they could into forward momentum. The collision wasn't pretty. Just as the two of them made contact, Blu's eyes widened, knowing that something was wrong. He struggled, but both time and space seemed to have halted. Everything transformed into a haze of gray, except for him. He was immobilized, yet part of him could still feel that something- or someone- was watching him.

"I'll be coming for you, Delta," a voice whispered, sending shivers shooting down his spine.

Then time and space resumed and the collision ensued. Blu, having been caught off guard, had stopped his tackle attack and frantically looked about for the speaker, only to be slammed into the garden's hard, brick walls by Latios. He was instantly fainted.

Latios flew back several feet and shook his head several times. That tackle attack that Blu had charged up felt really weak, as if something was distracting him. In addition, he had felt his head ram Blu in his chest, not against his own head. That mistake itself was just a faulty beginner's mistake. Did Blu truly know anything about battling?

The smaller Eon groaned as he regained consciousness and pushed his body up from the ground, using his tiny claws as supports. "You're going to try again?" Latios asked in partial surprise as he crossed his paws. The kid sure had a quick recovery rate.

Blu smirked. "I've taken quite a lot worse than that," he replied. Latios smiled back before flying back to his side of the garden to begin the battle once more. The second fight worked a little better, but Latios still won. The third fight was Blu's victory, but it was short lived as Latios changed tactics and quickly retaliated. Both the battlers fought harder and harder each round while their red counterparts played around the battle.

All the time, Blu couldn't shake off that voice. It seemed to be eerily familiar. Looking back on it, it was also the voice that had told him what to do when he had first left his home. Why was it so menacing?

**Location: Command Base**

Epsilon cut off his psychic connection from Delta. A little longer, and the unit would be under his control.

**Location: Testing Facility- Many years ago…**

Alpha and Omega darted down the hallway, surprised that they hadn't seen any resistance. "Where do you think all the retrieval teams could've gone?" Alpha asked as he leaped over a pile of rubble. Omega easily flipped over it with the support of his hand.

"Well, the entire base is about to blow up from some person's stupid idea," Omega commented. "It's only reasonable that they would've already evacuated already."

"But how did they get out so fast?" Alpha asked.

"Their suits have a built in teleportation device. The Commander must have a backup base somewhere," Omega replied.

"Where are we going to go after this?" Alpha asked with curiosity as led the path down to the hangar. The Gallade was speechless. What would their future be?

…

The golden beam was fired at the Councilman, who quickly dodged to the side and returned fire with his gauntlet. The purple rays traveled slowly but due to their large diameter, still managed to hit and stun Hunter J. The gold cement, however, struck Epsilon, instantly turning the Pokémon into a solid rock.

The Commander staggered and clutched his chest as Epsilon's pain was shared with him. He was nearly knocked off of his feet as a dual bladed helicopter flew up to the rooftop, spreading dust everywhere. "Commander! What are you doing here? The base is almost done with its self-destruction sequence!" the pilot yelled. The Commander shot one look back at the Director, but she was no longer there. He grimaced before picking up Epsilon's body and heading into the helicopter, with the Councilman soon to follow. It was time to move.

…

Hunter J ran through the desolate corridors, passing the many bullet holes that had been riddled into the walls. She hoped that they had made to safety.

She stopped at another set of reinforced doors. Not even those would stop her from completing her part in the final assignment. She didn't know exactly what it was, but it would have to do with the life of her comrades. She knew that she couldn't pass up on that. With a simple punch to the control panel, the door malfunctioned and opened, letting her into the hovercraft hangar.

Now to leave this place before it blew up and killed every one of them.


	28. History of the Units

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait! If you haven't already checked my profile to see the recent news, I am currently working on a collaboration of my fanfiction with my friend, CelesteZodiac. To be honest for now, I think we're just sort of playing around with different elements as this collaboration story is planned so far in this story's timeline. Anyways, that fooling around has given me some ideas, so I'll be introducing two new characters... one of them which will appear in this chapter. Anyone want to make a guess at his identity?**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 28- History of the Units**

* * *

**Location: Command Base- War room**

The commander of team Delta was mulling over his options as he looked over a map of the entire field. They had both Atios and Atias Island abandoned, so they would be little use. Alto Mare held their target, yet they couldn't just barge in. He put locations on hold as he reviewed the teams available. Each retrieval team was designated as a letter from the NATO alphabet and was composed of 3 humans. To their specific ranks, the three humans were trained as a sniper, ranger, and the commander/ sub-commander depending on the situation. In this case, he had been assigned to be the commander of all five teams, and the commanders of other teams had been temporarily assigned to the rank of sub-commander. This kind of designation would lead to what they would call each other during the time of action. For example, his current name in combat would be "Retrieval Delta C". "Retrieval" would always be there, followed by the team name and then the appropriate abbreviation for their rank. Their designations weren't to be confused with the units themselves, which had been named according to the Greek alphabet.

The commander of team Bravo walked over with his full combat suit equipped. The armor all teams wore was similar to that of Delta's, Beta's, and Sigma's design. It composed of a dark gray flak jacket over a forest camouflaged army suit. Black jackboots and gloves covered the hands and feet. On their heads was a forest camo advanced combat helmet merged with a military facemask, effectively sealing off their identities from the outside world. "Any plan yet?" the sub-commander asked.

Retrieval Delta C shrugged. "I've looked through every combat position in the book," he started. "Theta's definitely being careful. Her position is only showing up every now and then due to her cloaking suit. We could try stationing guards around Alto Mare, but that plan is just too risky for obvious reasons."

"So we're stuck here," Retrieval Bravo SC sighed.

"Let's just wait a little longer. Something's bound to happen," the Delta commander replied before sighing himself.

**Location: Somewhere in Alto Mare…**

Theta clutched her waist in pain. She didn't know how much life energy she could spare to hide herself before she was caught or left for dead. The unit hoped that the Director would act, and soon. Could she redeem herself? Could she confront her father once more? Theta could only hope.

**Location: Secret Garden**

After the battle, Latios flew around the garden, picking and eating oran berries off of bushes to regain his health. He sighed. The small kid had packed quite a punch in the battles they had gone through.

He turned around to his shorter counterpart, who was still practicing in his human form with the same wooden staff. "Don't you need to take a break?" Latios asked, concerned for his health.

Blu thrust his staff forward before swinging it in a complete circle. He paused for a moment to take a breath. "What do you mean?" he panted before he started practicing with the weapon once more.

Latios sighed. "Tell me your daily routine back on the… island," Latios asked before frowning. The kid said that he had come from a small island near Alto Mare, but there was none that he had known of. He would search for that later.

Blu shrugged as he set the wooden staff against the wall. "Wake up at dawn, practice hand to hand combat until midnight," Blu replied indifferently. "Why does it matter?"

Latios thought about this for a little longer before putting it aside. Still, why did he need so much training?

Blu reached down for his staff but then stopped. "It's been quite a while since Omega and Alpha have been gone. Do you think the Soul Dew is just recharging? How does that even work?" he asked, dumbfounded by all the mysteries. Latios tried to make sense out of it all but just couldn't.

**Location: Unknown**

"How did it go?" a mysterious voice asked from the dark.

Omega and Alpha both knelt before the giant figure. "Another day has passed without incident," Omega reported. "However, Alpha did slip up." The green soldier glared at Alpha as he looked down in shame.

"Do not worry about Alpha's slip. I knew that was to happen. That was planned to happen," the voice spoke. "Keep a watch out on him. If something goes wrong…"

"We know," Omega cut off. "We won't let it happen."

The figure nodded. "Good. You may go now." A beam of light struck their location as Omega and Alpha were teleported back into the Secret Garden. The figure stood there in silence. "You better not act upon them," He spoke to no one in particular. "You will not, brother."

However, deep within His heart, He knew it was only a matter of time before disaster struck.

**Location: Secret Garden**

Blu looked up into the sky with concern. It was already getting dark. Never before had Alpha and Omega taken this long to come back. He heard a small ding, signaling that the two had finally arrived. Blu took a deep breath before zoning out of his conscious state and into his unconscious one. There, he could meet the two again in the never ending dark room.

Blu, still in his human form, crossed his arms on his chest while he stared at the two lights. Unlike in the physical world, their forms in his unconscious state were just scattered lights. With each day that passed, though, their forms grew clearer.

"Alright," Blu started. "What took you so long?"

Omega rubbed the back of his head, or seemed to. "We ran into some… complications," he explained.

This set Blu in an alarmed state. "What kind of complications? Is something wrong with the Soul Dew?" he asked worriedly.

Omega frantically shook his head. "It's nothing like that," he replied. "It's just sometimes- Alpha! What are you doing!?"

Both of them turned to the blue light figure, who was currently constructing something with his own aura. "What do you mean?" Alpha asked as innocently as possible.

The green guard's eye twitched behind the mask. "What are you making?" he countered. He knew that whatever was going to unfold wasn't good. His answer came when a giant tank formed in front of him. He sighed before turning around to Blu.

"I would recommend you to leave this state now before Alpha causes too much trouble," Omega suggested.

"But what is he doing?" Blu asked. Alpha seemed to have quite a lot of fun driving it around…

"In this state," Omega explained. "Both Alpha and I have a stronger boost in our aura. Alpha usually likes to use his aura to create temporary things, mainly anything technology and weapon related."

"And they actually work?" Blu asked.

Omega sighed. "Unfortunately, yes," he replied. "However, this will only work in this dimension and won't cross into the physical world."

Blu nodded. Each day he was learning new things about himself and about the guards that accompanied him. He paused in the middle of his thinking. "Wait, what is Alpha doing now?" he asked as the he saw the tank barrel turn towards them.

Omega cursed as Alpha yelled the words he hated the most. "FIRE THE MAIN CANNON!" Alpha shouted. The tank barrel fired and an explosion sounded somewhere far away.

Omega turned back to Blu. "You might want to leave," he urged. Alpha fired the cannon again. "Perhaps, now."

Blu nodded. He closed his eyes as he felt warm light touch his face again, and then, he opened them to see the peaceful scenery of the garden once again.

**Location: Testing facility- Many years ago…**

Hunter J scanned the hangar. The entire place was deserted, except for the runaway units and several hovercrafts. She saw them all loading onto a single, large hovercraft and frowned. "Sigma!" she called out. The black unit turned around in surprise. "Load yourself and Beta onto that ship." Sigma was confused but followed the order, moving to the smaller hovercraft.

_'What is going on, Director?'_ asked a worried Omega.

"There's been a change in plans," she replied. "We're going separate paths." Finally, she understood the identity of the person that was needed in the last part of the final assignment.

_'Wait, what?'_ Alpha asked in surprise. _'Why?'_

The Director sighed. "That's something that you will have to find out yourself," she told them. "I'll start you off by telling you it's the final assignment." Both the units looked at each other in confusion. She hopped onto the Sigma's hovercraft and took the suitcase from him. She pulled out the necklace that had a small shadow of a blue Latios flying on the rusty metal. "Give this to the person that you will meet," she instructed as she tossed the necklace over to Omega. "You'll need it."

Omega nodded after catching the small item. _'How will we know where to go?'_ he questioned.

"The directions are programmed on the computer," Hunter J told them. Omega nodded in thanks. Alpha and Sigma both started the motors on their hovercrafts. "I guess this is farewell then," she said sadly.

_'Wait!'_ Alpha interrupted. _'We still have to give Delta and Beta new names, don't we?'_

Omega stared at his partner incredulously. _'The entire base is about to blow up and all you're thinking about is names!?'_ he yelled.

The Lucario put his paws in front of him for defense. _'Well, I mean, the Director told us we had to at some point,'_ he said innocently. Omega got up and prepared to punch him in the face.

"Wait, Omega," the Director cut in. "Alpha is right. Now, Alpha, what is your suggestion for their names?"

Omega sighed before he sat down next to his partner. He couldn't believe that this was being allowed. Alpha tilted his head into the air as he thought. _'How about Delta's name can be Blu, and Beta's name can be Rei?'_ he suggested.

Omega blinked several times. That did seem like quite a good suggestion. "Where did you get that from?" he asked, quite impressed with Alpha's words for once.

"By their hair color, of course. Delta has blue hair, and Beta has red hair," he said smugly and crossed his arms together. The very annoyed Omega elbowed him in the gut. Luckily, his elbows weren't extended into full out blades, something that he could use later in a counterargument.

The Director chuckled at their conversation, even if she didn't understand any of it. She smiled. "That'll do. Come on, let's go," she simply ordered. The hovercrafts started moving out of the base and into the cold water.

That day, Delta's and Beta's lives ended, and Blu's and Rei's began.

**Location: Secret Garden**

The first thing Blu encountered when he left his unconscious state was a somewhat worried Rei. The worried Eon was literally right in front of his face. "Um… what's wrong?" he asked awkwardly. Rei simply responded by hugging him tightly with her small claws. He looked over at the others for an explanation.

"You blacked out," Latias explained. That was the simplest way without having to go through the details.

Blu tilted his head. "What's wrong with that?"

Rei broke from her embrace. "Remember the last time that happened in the hall?" she reminded.

"And the other time after creating the Soul Dew?" Latias added on. Latios frowned. How did that process happen again?

"And the other time in the hall, when De-" Rei started once more.

"Alright! I get it!" Blu shouted as he put his hands in front of his face. He didn't want to be reminded that he had almost died during those events that had taken place just a week ago. "But how was I acting just now?" he questioned. "I felt fine on the inside."

"Are you sure that you're not getting any symptoms from too much training? It looked like you went into… coma," Latios stepped in. Blu then realized their concern.

"No, no, it's nothing like that!" he explained as his mind scrambled to retrieve the information. "Alpha and Omega had just returned, so I went back in my unconsciousness to check on them."

"What took so long, then?" Rei pressed on further. "It's been three hours and it's almost dinner time!"

Blu shrugged. He didn't have a reply for that. "It's been three hours already? Well, I guess you'd have to ask Omega and Alpha," he responded before quickly changing the topic. "You said it's almost dinner time?"

Rei's expression brightened a little. "Yea! Bianca's preparing dinner!" she informed as she motioned the other two Eons to go without them. "You coming now?"

Blu nodded. "Give me some time. I need to check up on one more thing," he replied before he crossed his legs together and sat down. After taking few breaths, he fell back into deep meditation. However, this time he wasn't going to where Alpha and Omega were. He was diving into the deepest parts of his mind. He was going to find who that voice belonged to.

...

He was falling. Blu tried to fly, but realized that he was in his human form. He flung his arms out I'm an attempt to decrease increase his air resistance, but his attempts were futile as... there was no air. Black and purple auroras rushed past him faster and faster. There was no end, there was no beginning. It felt as if he would fall forever.

...

"Do you think it's time to check up on him?" Alpha asked.

Omega nodded. "Prepare to materialize," he instructed. A white light swallowed both of them and lifted them out of the Blu's unconscious world.

...

A blinding light filled both of their visors as they were transported into the physical world. That was to be expected, though. However, when they arrived in the garden, what they saw was pure chaos, something far from what was thought to happen.

**Location: Testing Facility- War room**

Sigma opened up his old, dusty journal as he prepared to create another entry about the day. _Today is like any other day,_ he wrote. _I've taken five more complete scans of the island and patched up the barrier a few times. I'm not sure how long we can stay hidden._ He put the pen down as he thought to himself before continuing to write down his day. _The Director has been making me do more… recreational activities, I believe they are called. I still question their uses. I still haven't followed one of the Director's orders, though. I'm not sure how I should feel, but-_

His door was knocked on several times. He lost his concentration and immediately saluted as Hunter J walked in. "Sir? What do you need?" he asked. He had been ordered to take a break. Things were getting a lot more confusing as the days passed.

The Director leaned against the wall as the metal door automatically closed. "It's about my last order," she told him while keeping his face stern.

Sigma tried to register her words. He hadn't been given a direct, militaristic order in the past 5 years… he was simply following protocols. "What… what order, sir?" he stammered.

"The order to take your armor off," Hunter J told him. Sigma took a step back in surprise.

"I… I refuse!" he shouted.

The Director grimaced. "Well, why not? You have to acknowledge your own identity," she argued back.

Sigma shook his head several times. "You don't know what it feels like to be me!" he roared. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE A COPY OF SOMEONE!"

The Director pushed herself from the wall as she prepared to leave the room. Sigma simply collapsed on the floor. What was he doing? Why was he arguing? Why did he feel a sense of wanting to defy orders?

"Why?" he asked, his voice trembling in fear for the first time in his life. The Director stopped. "Why do I have to do all of these new activities? Why do I have to draw and play and-"

"Because you need to prepare yourself for the outside world," Hunter J cut off. She walked out of the doors. The conversation was over.

Sigma simply took his helmet off as he faced his face- no, his brother's face- in the reflection of the broken holographic map. He turned his feelings away as he put his helmet back on to conceal his identity. Delta, his brother, was dead. Delta's mind was wiped, and the person Sigma now watched over was no longer his brother… the same went with Beta, his "sister." Their personalities had changed and they had all moved on to the future, while he stayed in the past. He was all alone now.

**Location: Secret Garden- Blu's unconsciousness**

Blu finally landed on solid ground with quite a lot of force. His legs shook a little, but compared to the height he had fallen, the effect was minimal. His azure eyes scanned the dark surroundings; not even a glint of light shone from anywhere. He decided to explore, unaware of the dangers that would come as a consequence.

…

Iota simply smiled. Now would be his perfect time. Now would be the perfect time to complete his mission and to wipe the opposite side/person of Epsilon from the universe so that his master would succeed in his quest. He could almost sense the death lingering in the air, waiting for someone to claim it.

**Location: Secret Garden**

Rei couldn't describe what had happened. Just a second ago, he had just been sitting here, meditating. The next, he was on the floor, clutching his chest for breath. His eyes kept moving back and forth, never locking onto anything for longer than just a few seconds.

The two guards had appeared just in time when it happened. Alpha quickly rushed over and put his gloved hands on the child's body before he started channeling all his aura into it. Omega just stood there, looking stunned.

"What are you waiting for?!" Alpha shouted in the otherwise serene garden. "Help out somehow!" The green guard stood there silently before slowly walking over and helping Alpha in healing Blu. To Rei's surprise, she saw that the aura Omega was using to heal was in a dark purple color. From what Red Eyes had taught her, it indicated sorrow. Just what was causing him to be sad?

By this time, the smaller Eons' larger counterparts and protectors had rushed in from near the Soul Dew pedestal. "What happened?" Latias cooed worriedly as she flew over to Rei.

"I-I don't know," the smaller, red Eon stammered. "He was fine just a second ago, and then, this..." Why was she tearing up all of a sudden? He was just another Pokémon the world, and they had just met each other by coincidence... Right?

Latias put her paw on her back and tried to comfort her while simultaneously translating the story via telepathy to the two humans.

"Will he be alright?" Bianca muttered.

"Yes, he will," Lorenzo spoke. "He has to be..."

Then there was silence.

Rei fingered the small necklace that she had just separated from Blu's necklace. Life could be so lonely.

…

Voices filled the air. Each one was muted as Blu tried to focus his senses to figure out where he was. He peeked through his eyes, only to quickly shut them as they were hurting too much. He tried moving his hand to rub the intense pain shooting throughout it, but someone else's hand blocked his movement and gently placed it down on the bed he was laying on. Somewhere in the room, beeps from a nearby machine could be heard.

"What's… what's going on?" he finally managed to slur out before coughing a bit. His body felt horrible.

"You're in the pokécenter," a gentle voice explained to him. His heart fell. It belonged to Nurse Joy.

He started panicking. How did he get here? Why was he here? Couldn't Alpha and Omega help him? "W-where are my friends?" he stammered, tripping over his own words.

_The time gear stopped ticking…_

Silence. The device that had been monitoring his heart had also been quieted.

"Hello?" Blu called out worriedly. "Nurse Joy? Are you there?" No response.

_'You are not alone, Blu,'_ a voice told him. Shivers went down his spine. It was the same one that had spoken to him when he was fighting Latios back in the garden. _'We have a great deal to talk about. Here, let me take the pain away…'_

Blu almost felt relief rushing through him when he could finally open his eyes and move his arms and legs once more. The feeling was quickly taken away when all he saw was everything in that old, gray tint. Nothing moved. It was as if both time and space had frozen once more like with the battle against Latios.

He rose up from medical bed before turning around to have a more clear view of what was going on. Nurse Joy had just turned from where he was to bring some medicine from a nearby table. Blu looked down the rows and rows of beds. For the few that held patients, it was odd to note that the beds held both human and Pokémon patients. After the surprise attack from the ships, there was still much healing to be done to both the city and the people.

_'Come now,'_ the voice coaxed in a gentler tone than before. Blu turned around just as a set of double doors creaked open. _'We must not waste a second.'_

Blu looked around longer before slowly heading into the lobby. Upon arrival, he saw his friends all sitting with worried expressions. Bianca sat to the right of Rei, who was the closest to his door. Lorenzo was next to her granddaughter and had an equally as troubled face as the other two, if not even more.

A quick scan of the rest of the lobby revealed two the two invisible dragons floating next to their protectors. Alpha and Omega were also both invisible, just sulking in the corner. From the looks of their armor, it seemed that they had tried to healing Blu by themselves, fought against the Eon Pokémon, and then lost. The entire scene was in a gray color.

"Where are you?" Blu demanded to the voice. "Come out!"

_'No need to shout,'_ the voice sounded from right behind him. Blu quickly whirled around and locked eyes with… his master.

The figure simply chuckled at his reaction. "I am not who you think I am, nor am I who you don't think I am," he spoke, making sure that he enunciated each and every word perfectly. He started to walk towards Blu, who started taking several steps back.

"Then… who are you?" Blu inquired as his eyes scanned the room for something to use as an advantage.

A purple glow emitted from Sky's body, blinding Blu before it faded. He gasped at the sight. In his place stood Rei. Blu's eyes darted back and forth between the moving figure and the stationary one who was still sitting near the opened door. "Beta," the imposter spoke in the same voice the little red Eon did.

A purple glow shone from him once more before fading and showing some sort of blue and black, bipedal canine. "Alpha."

The purple glow blinded the little Latios once more as the figure changed form once more into what looked like a green and white knight. "Omega," the figure spoke as he stepped closer to Blu. The disguised Eon found that he was backed up against the wall, trapped with nowhere else to go.

Another step and another purple shine of light, and it had transformed into a green haired and white dressed dancer. "Theta."

A purple shine came again. This time, he saw himself but with black hair and emerald eyes. However, something about the figure's left arm seemed a bit peculiar. "Sigma." He was now standing right in front of Blu's face.

A light began to shine as the figure changed to its final form. Blu soon blacked out and never saw what had happened next, but the word that the figure spoke was chilling to his soul.

"Epsilon."

_And the time gear started moving once more…_

* * *

Well, there's this chapter. I am currently thinking about the plot of the next chapter. I'll get it up as soon as I can! School and projects area holding me back quite a bit, but I'll get it to you guys one day :)


	29. Sigma

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

**A/N: Great... another whole month without updates...**

**Sorry guys. Anyways, I managed to (finally) get the "Little Latios' Holidays" set up, which I still have to finish up the Easter chapter, and celestezodiac also uploaded the first chapter of our crossover, "Stars Astray," so go check that our if you want.**

**Also, I have some art up on my deviantart profile (by the same name as my fanfiction profile...) with some concept drawings of Sigma. I'll try getting Alpha up there soon enough. (I wonder what the drawings will reveal...) I also plan on adding a side story on there too, but that may/ may not happen.**

**Enough with the updates. Here's the next chapter!**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**Chapter 29- Sigma**

* * *

**Location: Testing facility- Many years ago- 1 week before escape…**

Sigma crossed his legs as he meditated on the floor again. One by one, each part of his suit of armor floated up and began rotating around him. His eyes squeezed even tighter. Increase airspeed, check for obstacles, identify targets…

Radio chatter was heard. Typical.

"Target locked," the monotone voice of Retrieval Delta C sounded. "All units, open fire." There was a crackle as the signal ended as different calibers of machine guns all shot at Sigma.

The unit simply counted to himself. He knew that he was unarmored. He knew the risks. He knew the plan. He knew… the time as it began to slow.

_3…_ The first of the light machine gun barrage started from the barrels and towards him.

_2…_ The rocket launchers from the rangers on various teams blasted their heat seeking projectiles.

_1…_ The commanders each ordered an individual satellite laser strike.

_0…_

Nothing. Sigma looked around him. Everyone and everything had stopped just in their spot. He psychically pushed his satchel to him and pulled out a time gear, the most sacred treasure he had been allowed to keep. He turned away, disgusted. He didn't need such as item to save his life in this scenario. He put the time gear back in its place and time began moving again.

A large blast of dust emerged as all the weapons of destruction destroyed the area Sigma was in. Silence dawned over the teams. "Did we get him?" asked the ranger from retrieval team Bravo.

A voice was heard over their radios. "Too late," it said.

Sigma looked up from his position. He had withstood 6 satellite beam strikes, 24 rockets, and at least a hundred bullets. The part he was the proudest of was that he didn't even budge an inch and had managed to equip his armor in under a second.

"Now," he told the teams, his voice growing deeper and more sinister with each word. "It's my turn."

…

"He's to your left! He'-"

"Bravo! Get back you lit- argh!"

"Beep…" the sign of a life signal going offline.

"Keep shooting! We wil-"

"…"

"I-Is anyone there? Does anyone copy? Hello?" Silence once more. Elsewhere, the Commander looked up from his schematics.

"These are some very impressive tactics," he commented as he watched Sigma dispatch of the last soldier on a monitor.

"I'm glad to hear of that," replied the Director. "He's made significant progress ever since he was… born."

"I think the correct term is created," the Councilman interrupted. The Director shot an angry glare at him. He pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on. "What about the other units?"

"They're still in the chambers in deep sleep mode," a new voice stepped in. Everyone turned around to notice that Epsilon had entered the room. He was wearing the full armor suit, although his was in the same design as Sigma's, Delta's, and Beta's than compared to the regular retrieval team unit combat armor.

The Commander looked at the unit. The suit had been specially designed to withstand anything, even if the design itself looked simple and plain. It was composed of a simple military shirt and pants. Jackboots covered the feet while thick, armored gloves covered the hands. A flak jacket was worn over the shirt and offered a wide variety of pockets to carry utilities. Shoulder and knee pads were provided, along with one, pentagon shaped elbow pad attached on the left side of the arm. The helmet was custom designed for each unit to fit their needs best, but Sigma's, Delta's, and Beta's all followed the same design of a pentagon shaped visor and two Eon ears printed on side. A hollow triangle of their color was also marked just above the visor.

Epsilon's helmet also followed the pentagon shaped visor but omitted the Latios/ Latias ears along with the hollow triangle. Instead, he had a small horn printed that curved around one side of the helmet. His entire suit color, however, was so dark in color that it was hard to make out any features.

"They will be brought out tomorrow and will have a one week test," Epsilon continued. "I expect full reports on everything, understood?" The trio nodded and then the unit walked out. The tense atmosphere was quickly dropped and everyone sighed.

"What is with that guy? It feels like he's choking on my neck every time he gets near me," the Councilman complained.

"Do mind him," the Commander stated. "He's had quite a rough past." The Director, however, had her own theories.

**Location: Pok****_é_****center- present time**

"Do you think he'll be fine?" Rei murmured.

Lorenzo nodded. "I'm sure it's nothing too serious," he reassured, but inside, he was truly worried for Blu.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, four invisible entities were talking, or arguing, with each other.

'What is your problem!?' Alpha shouted at the guardians of Alto Mare. 'We were on the verge of healing him when you interrupted!'

_'Well,'_ Latias replied staunchly as she turned her back. _'I'm not taking any chances with anyone's life if they're in danger.'_

Alpha shook his head back and forth. _'May I remind you that NO ONE KNOWS THAT THEY EXIST!?'_

Latios stepped in. He wasn't the one to just let people yell at his sister. _'How about I remind you that no one knows about us?'_ he retorted. _'Yet even better, we don't know about you two?'_

Alpha turned to his partner. _'Come on, Omega,'_ he told to him. _'What do you think?'_ The green soldier's attention, however, was immersed in something else. He kept rubbing his finger over the mysterious blade. _'Omega?'_ Alpha asked. _'You there?'_

Omega was silent for a moment before he spoke to the two Eon Pok_émon. __'__There's a reason why I don't like you two,'__he simply told them. The sentence hung in the air for a moment before Latios broke the silence._

_'__What is that supposed to mean?'__he asked incredulously. So far, the only incidents he membered that they had ever made anyone mad were either interfering with the race or pulling pranks off on Bianca or Lorenzo._

_'__You still don't remember, do you…'__Omega spoke ominously. Alpha's eyes narrowed. He was hiding something… something that had a dark aura to it. Wait, there was something else… another presence that was resonating an even more shadowy aura._

_Suddenly, he felt alarm in his body go off. __'__Rei!'__he shouted.__ '__Whatever you do, don-'_

_The time gear stopped ticking…_

_…_

_And the time gear started moving once more…_

Rei barely had any time to put her arms up in protection as the door suddenly came swinging at her. The impact shot her from her chair and onto the ground. Next thing she knew, Blu had appeared on the ground in the waiting room and Nurse Joy was frantically looking around for him. It was as if everything had happened all at once.

Yet somehow, she knew what had happened.

**Location: Testing facility- Many years ago- 1 week before escape...**

"Epsilon wants another combat simulation?" Sigma asked the Director as they walked down the dark hall. He shot a glance over at the retrieval teams, who, even after being killed in the simulation, had only minor injuries. Everything in the simulation was real. You could be killed and you could suffocate, but that wouldn't actually happen.

Hunter J nodded. "He's prepared a special batch of targets this time," she explained.

Sigma stopped in his tracks. "Let me guess," he started. "They're the ones that my mission is required to… kill, right?"

The Director nodded. "Yes," she confirmed. "It's your final mission. What you've been made for."

Sigma looked away. "Then let's do it now."

…

The black and green unit entered the giant white chamber. Everything could be simulated from holograms while everything could be controlled from an observation deck that hanging from the wall. The computer started speaking as it was turned on.

_Simulation start up- combat mode. _

_ Location: Secret Garden, Alto Mare. _

_ Targets: Legendary Pok__émon Latios and Latias._

_ Primary Objective: Eliminate all targets._

_ Secondary Objective: None._

_ Restrictions: None._

A flash of light was emitted from somewhere in the room and light particles were spread everywhere. Suddenly, Sigma found himself riding on a cloaked speedboat towards the city. No restrictions… so many options.

In the next moment, the speed boat landed, time stopped, and he was running down a pathway. His helmet beeped, signaling him that he was there. The next instant, time moved again and a massive explosion was made in the wall that revealed the Secret Garden. Both of the Legendary Pokémon were blasted back into the other side. Many civilians were either knocked back by the sudden explosion or looked on with surprise. Sigma didn't have time for them. He had a mission.

Suddenly, two gunship helicopters uncloaked and retrieval teams Delta and Bravo were lowered down next to him. He and the teams raised their rifles at the two targets, who were still frozen in shock. They tried to flee, but the teams kept their aim true.

The firing squad opened fire.

The computer beeped again. _Simulation end._

…

In the observation deck, the Council along with the Director were reviewing Sigma's battle statistics. "Epsilon," the Commander asked. "How long has it been since the Secret Garden battle ground has been updated?"

"Our most recent update was twenty five years ago on the mission to attack and retrieve units Omega-1 and Theta," Epsilon reported. "Counting all dates, the only other time any team has been inside the city or garden was around one hundred and fifty years ago." The surprised Director and Councilman both looked at each other. Something was very off.

"So is the information reliable?" the Director asked.

"More or less, yes," Epsilon replied. "The two Eon Pokémon still haven't changed much from the past 25 years. However, changes will occur in the next 2 years. One of them will fall to a great evil."

His prediction was correct. Latios sacrificed his life exactly two years after Epsilon said that sentence and three years before the present time.

The Commander cleared his throat. "What I'm more worried about is Sigma's tactics. As of now, he seems to be a support unit. I want his tactics changed to spy and sabotage."

"But we've been working years on his tactics already!" Hunter J protested.

"Time is not of essence," Epsilon spoke. "Neither is life."

There was a silence in the room. "Run the combat simulation once more," he ordered the computer. "Set restrictions 3, 6, and 109 in place and change the objectives to set two."

And it happened over and over again…

**Location: Pok****écenter- present time**

Blu was back on the medical bed with Nurse Joy frantically working to stabilize his condition. She didn't know what had happened, other than the fact that he had somehow walked through the door and into the waiting room in a split second… and fallen unconscious once more.

Rei had recovered and was back in the same position she was in before the door had sent her flying. She crossed her legs on the chair and began meditating on the problem. Lorenzo and Bianca looked over at the direction- or general direction- of the invisible units and dragons.

"What is going on?" Lorenzo whispered.

Alpha shrugged. _'To be fair,'_ he started. _'I'm not too sure myself.'_

_'You better find out!'_ Latias hissed. _'Blu just somehow walked through an entire room in no time!'_

Omega ignored both of them. _'I'm more worried about something else. Now that he's here in the pokécenter, the officials will ask for his identification, and possibly Rei's now that she's here. How will we reply?'_

Both the humans exchanged glances as they thought. This wasn't too easy, coming up with new identities for two people- or Pokémon- they barely knew of.

Lorenzo frowned. "Didn't both Blu's and Rei's guardians prepare identifications in case of situations like this?" he asked. Alpha snapped his fingers, generating a shushing from the nurse. He cringed a little before replying.

_'Yea!'_ he exclaimed in their minds. _'They have pokédexes! It holds all we need!'_

There was a silence. _'Um, that's good and all, but why do they have pokédexes that don't even work?'_ Latias asked, recalling that one time when Blu and she were both locked up in a cage, and he had tried using the device to scan a Nidoking.

_'I don't know,'_ Alpha shot back. _'But we have what we need for now.'_ However, inside, he was all excited about getting a chance to inspect the machines.

"There still needs to be an explanation on why they're living with us, though," Bianca said.

Alpha shrugged. _'That part is easy. Just say that they're brother and sister, and that they're your cousins.'_

She blinked several times. "That could work… I guess," she said. "But… there's one problem…" Her body began to stiffen. Alpha stepped back a little. He knew that he had said something that went too far. Several tears fell out of Bianca's eyes.

The two Legendary Pokémon looked at each other before trying to comfort her. _'What's wrong, Bianca?'_ Latias asked in the calmest voice she could. She still wouldn't speak .

Lorenzo sighed. "You see," he explained. "Soon after Bianca was born, her parents left to journey the outside world and left her in my care." Silence. "We never heard from them again."

_'Oh…'_

Silence once more. Omega began sharpening the glowing dagger with an older, rustier sword. Both were invisible along with himself, and the sound was inaudible to humans. The high pitched noise, however, was affecting the ears of Alpha, Latios, and Latias. '_Argh! Will you quit that!?'_ Latios shouted while shaking his head.

Omega stayed unaffected by his words and simply looked down at the green, glowing dagger. He tried feeling sorrow and sadness, but was unable to. He looked closer at the blade, hoping that it would give him some comfort, but it didn't. Anger started bubbling inside him. Why couldn't things jus-

_'Hey!'_ Latios shouted one more time. _'Are you there? Hello?'_ He waved his paws frantically to get his attention. Latias sweat dropped.

_'No guardian, parent or of the world, should be that irresponsible,' _Omega suddenly spoke. Bianca looked at him (or at least where she thought he was). Alpha looked down before he turned around.

_'Remember what you always say?' _he asked once more. _'What was in the past is in the past. There's no point in thinking about it.'_ Omega didn't reply. Alpha sighed. Picking at old wounds wasn't going to help them get anywhere.

…

Rei found herself in front of dozens of portals. Each one of them glowed with a different color and aura. "Well," she mumbled to herself. "This was not what I was expecting when I started meditating."

"Oh… now is it?" a voice asked. She felt shivers go down her spine.

"Who is it? Show yourself!" she demanded.

"Now, now… I don't think you're in any position to make demands," the voice told her. "Especially after I just sent Blu into a critical condition." Rei's eyes shot wide open. Someone had caused that? She set herself in a fighting stance that Red Eyes had taught her as groups of shadows began to clump together to form a figure. When the transformation was complete, she felt every muscle in her body go limp.

"I-Iota…" she stammered. Iota chuckled at her surprise.

"I do believe we have quite a long history together…" he responded. "I'd like to spend some time going over those sweet times."

**Location: Testing Facility- 6 days before escape...**

All the units had been lined up in full armor in front of Epsilon in the main control room. No one else was in the area. Three of the commanders had been charged in guarding the area to make sure that no one could make it in… or out. They had also been ordered to restrict access from even the Director, Councilman, and Commander.

Surprisingly, each unit had a desk and wore full body armor as they watched Epsilon speak. Omega was paired with Alpha, Delta was paired with Rei, and Sigma… was simply alone. That's how he wanted it to be. Theta and Iota were not present because they were… special.

"I'd like to go over several tactics," Epsilon began lecturing. Holographic images began appearing. "As you know, throughout the past month, each of you has been fighting either with or against the retrieval teams. Does anyone know why?"

Omega raised his hand. Epsilon called on him. "Is it to improve our skills with fighting alongside a team?" he replied, more as a question than an answer. Epsilon nodded.

"That is close. Now, what is the theme to this entire change in battle strategies?"

Sigma raised his hand and was called upon. "To show that it is better to fight as an organized team than to fight against one or fight with an unorganized team that do not share the same and correct ideals, sir," he replied. Epsilon nodded in approval before giving a hard glare at his brother, Delta. He, in turn, felt anger rising in him, but his sister, Beta, held him back. He heard the message and backed down. For now.

"Now, I do believe Alpha has something to share?" Epsilon asked. Alpha nodded and walked up next to Epsilon. He linked up his military computer up to the main holographic projectors. Every now and then, Epsilon gave him time and materials to create something new as either weaponry or technology related that could enhance unit performance. Most of his inventions were infamous for blowing up or destroying something by accident.

He pulled up an interesting model of a cannon. Omega sweat dropped. He had a feeling something would go wrong all too soon. Using his aura, Alpha managed to materialize the holographic image into a real life item.

Epsilon looked at the device carefully. "What is the purpose of this?" he asked.

"I've been studying everyone's statistics from the past simulations," Alpha explained. He turned to Sigma. "One of your major flaws is your weakness, so I've decided that we could try using that weakness as an advantage." Sigma observed the device with curiosity before looking down at his left arm. Could his weakness ever be solved? Blu looked at the weapon with hatred. It was always his brother that was succeeding.

"I'll try using it in the field," he hastily replied. Alpha nodded before turning to Epsilon. The dark unit simply snapped his fingers as part of the room opened up to lead to another testing chamber. The walls were still lined with white panels, just with reinforced plating. Alpha's experiments would usually go out of hand.

Sigma walked into the testing chamber before turning around to see that the door had sealed and the entire wall had become an impenetrable glass. This allowed for everyone else to receive a full view. He looked around and waited for directions.

"Alright," Epsilon spoke through the built-in speaker. "The weapon is located in the middle of the room. You will be tested on speed and accuracy." Sigma followed the directions before picking up the mentioned weapon. It seemed to consist of an entirely metal backpack attached to a long, cylindrical barrel that ran parallel to the shortest side.

Sigma turned around to Alpha, who was also standing behind the window. "How do I use this thing?" he shouted.

"Put it on and the barrel should come over your left shoulder," Alpha instructed. "Place your hand on the barrel and channel your aura to operate the cannon."

"And you're sure that your invention won't blow up this time?" Sigma questioned. Alpha nodded. Sigma sighed before following his instructions. He still had quite a bad feeling about this.

**Location: Rei's meditation**

"W-what are you doing here?" Rei stammered.

The shadow simply smiled and laughed a bit. "Isn't it obvious? Can't you remember?"

"Remember… what?" she asked back.

Iota stopped laughing. "So, it seems that they've made you forgotten all the time we've had together…" he stated. "What a shame." The shadow figure slipped through one of the portals.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about! I barely even know who you are!" Rei shouted into the air.

"All will come to rest," the voice said as it began to fade. "All will be realized… soon enough…"

"All families will be rejoined… All secrets will be revealed… and all will be destroyed."


	30. Holidays: Easter

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

**A/N: Alright... the entire holiday thing isn't working to well so I'll stick my holiday stories in here. It's just easier to keep up that way. Also, here's the full finished Easter adventure...  
**

**Next in the holidays will be Mother's Day... which is also coming up late. I'll get it up one day. I hope.**

**Note that the holiday chapters won't exactly follow the timeline of the main story.**

"Speech"

'Telepathy'

**Chapter 30- Easter**

* * *

It was another peaceful day in the Secret Garden. Pokémon were flying and buzzing about as others swam through the garden's many ponds. Of course, there were also the legendary Eon Pokémon that were…

Sleeping. Blu was awake but decided against causing commotion and accidently wake everyone else up. He yawned a bit and shifted his head to a more comfortable position on the tree before he let his eyes close again.

Poke. Blu shifted his wings as he tried to put the sense out of his mind.

Another poke. And another. He slowly opened his eyes slightly to see who was bugging him. As usual, his sister, Rei, was right in front of his face. "What is it this time?" he mumbled, more than slightly annoyed.

"Wake up," the four feet tall Latias whispered back.

"No. I'm still tired," Blu responded and turned his head around. Rei looked around before grinning mischievously.

"I hope that nothing bad will happen to my brother," she shouted to no one in particular. Several Pokémon looked on in interest. Blu didn't move. Perfect. With a forceful psychic push, she shoved him off the warm tree and into freezing pond.

Immediately, the small Latios shot out of the water and stared back at his sister, who was rolling in the air, laughing. "What was that for!?" he asked incredulously.

"Oh, that was just to see your reaction," Rei giggled. "How was that for a prank?" she asked to Latias, who was on the other side of the garden.

Latias nodded in approval before turning around. "Look what I did!" she replied. Every single Pokémon in the Secret Garden turned to see that Latios had himself entangled through the branches of a very large tree.

"This isn't funny!" he shouted. Everyone except Blu and Latios started laughing and stifling giggles.

"Jeez, is this prank your brother day or what?" Blu asked to himself.

Alpha appeared as a 3-inch hologram, who stood in thin air right next to him. "To be correct, it's Easter," he replied.

Blu turned. "What's Easter?"

Latias looked over at the small Eon. "You don't know anything about the outside world, do you…" she deadpanned. Blu simply shrugged. "It's a time when humans celebrate and play around by planting small, plastic eggs around that contain treats!"

"That seems fun," Blu replied.

"Too bad we can't play," she sighed before looking at her brother. "Latios here says the reason we can't go and play at the parks is because we have a duty to protect the city."

Latios tried shrugging in his position. "We can't go around playing when our job is to guard everyone's safety," he told her sternly.

Latias looked down depressingly. "I know…"

Blu and Rei looked at each other. "Well…" Rei started.

"Wait," Blu cut in. "Where's Omega?" The little Eon searched frantically in his mind for the small, green unit.

Omega appeared from some bushes and waved. "Don't worry," he called out. "I'm over here!"

Alpha glided next to his companion. "Are you done? We can't afford to wait any longer!" he hissed. Omega nodded back before both of them disappeared into the bushes.

"Wait!" Blu called out before taking off after his friends. All he came to find, however, were bundles of leaves. "Where in the world could they be?" he mumbled as he searched through the shrubs with his small claws.

Latios sighed as he began to untangle himself from the mess he was in. "You might want to keep in the fact that they're made of light. They can go anywhere, anytime." He bit a piece of branch off and spit it out. "How did you even get me tangled in this disaster anyways?" he asked his sister. She simply shrugged while trying to hide a grin.

However, the garden itself was hiding something from its inhabitants. A new adventure awaited them.

…

"Ow! Alpha, move your hand!" Bianca shouted in a hushed whisper.

"Me? I'm in my holographic form! I can't interact with anything!" Alpha shot back.

"Oh," Bianca replied in realization. There was some silence. "Grandpa, can you move over a bit?"

"Sorry, but there just isn't much space," Lorenzo replied as he scooted further into the cover of the bushes. "Tell me again what we're doing?"

"Well…" Alpha started. "I've been tracking each of the Eons' stats and I've noticed there's been a decrease in their happiness. Thus, I check the calendar for the nearest upcoming holiday and decided to plan something for them."

Omega turned to his partner. "First of all, how do you even get that information? Second of all, when was the last time we celebrated anything?" Alpha shrugged.

Lorenzo thought about the Omega's question further before asking the duo the question he was thinking. "How did you even monitor their emotional status? Not even the most advanced technology can do that."

"I suppose it is common sense. Anyone can get bored after a period of time," Omega replied. Without turning his head, he said, "Alpha, don't even try setting off holographic fireworks. You'll give us away." The blue unit sheepishly packed the equipment up.

Bianca discussed the idea with her grandfather before turning around back at the two units. "Ok. We'll help. Just tell us what to do."

"There's a basket of eggs located right next to where Lorenzo is sitting. We need you to spread those around the garden and have the dragons find them for fun," Alpha instructed.

"Why can't you move them?" Bianca asked as her eyes locked on to where the basket was.

"Remember?" Alpha replied as he waved his hands through a wall. "We can't."

"Then how did you get the basket here the first place? Where did the eggs even come from?" Bianca asked, keeping on the pressure.

"… Don't ask," was his only reply. She sighed. Typical them.

"Quick, Blu's coming!" Lorenzo warned in a hushed voice.

…

"Aw… come on guys! This isn't funny!" Blu shouted as he poked his entire neck through the bush and was rewarded with a small collision against the brick wall.

Rei sighed as she flew over to her brother. "How much longer are you going to keep up at it?" she asked.

"Not until I find those two!" the little Latios replied. He tried going in further but found his wing caught in the bush branches. "Um… help?" he squeaked. Rei simply shook her head back and forth before psychically pulling her brother out once more and throwing him into the pond. After doing so, she noticed something colorful in the hole Blu had made in the bushes. She gingerly reached her claws in and pulled out a small round item. Various colors of stripes ran along its side.

"Hey, Latias!" she shouted over to her larger counterpart. "Is this an Easter egg?"

Latias barely had time to reply before the egg exploded in a blinding flash of light.

…

"What was that!?" Bianca asked.

"Um…" Alpha slowly replied. "I think I might or might not have accidently added in a small amount of my extra ammunition deposit I had conveniently lying around in that endless satchel that is able to hold everything we put in it?"

Both the humans face palmed. "We hid the eggs. What are we to do now!?"

"That was just a flash bang, so it didn't do any damage to anything. Let me check my reserves to make sure that nothing else is missing…"

…

"Argh!" Rei shouted as the object blew up in her hand and blinded and deafened her. She stumbled wildly across the air before crashing into the same pond she had thrown Blu in. Unfortunately, the little Eon was first able to restore her sight before her hearing.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I think there was a flash bang inside the Easter egg!" Blu replied as he came up to the water's surface. His sister had knocked him back into the pond while she was stumbling about.

"WHAT?"

"I said that there was a-"

"WHAT?"

"I said-"

"WHAT?"

"I-"

"WHAT?"

Blu shook his head several times. This was getting old. _'I said that there was probably a flash bang inside the Easter egg!' _he told her sister telepathically.

"OH! WHY WAS THERE A FLASH BANG INSIDE THE-"

"Will you stop shouting!?" Blu yelled. There was silence for a few moments.

"My hearing is back… I think…" Rei replied as she picked herself from the water.

"And I think I just lost mine…" Blu stated as he flew out of the pond. The pair flew over to the guardians of Alto Mare. Latios had finally managed to untangle himself from the tree.

"So… what happened?" Latias asked.

"I have a feeling that somebody we know very well did that…" Blu replied suspiciously as his eyes darted back and forth at the bushes.

"No, really. What happened?" Latias said once more. Blu simply face palmed.

…

Everyone in the bushes simply gave hard stares at Alpha. "… Happy Easter?" he said sheepishly, hoping that would lighten everyone's mood. It didn't.

**Location: Testing Facility**

"Hey, it's Easter!" Sigma excitedly pointed out as he checked the calendar.

"I suppose it is," Hunter J replied as she walked over and checked at Sigma's monitor. "Why are you so excited anyways?"

"Well… let's just say that I've been learning from a few tricksters and set up a little prank." the unit replied.

The Director raised her eyebrows. "I wonder how it played out…"

* * *

**Next Chapter...**

**Chapter 31: Memories**

The adventure will start changing as the Commander decides it is time to progress with the project once more. Alpha takes a desperate decision that fills the town with panic once more.

Yet, Alto Mare is not "his" only target. Retrieval Team Alpha has been sent to Pallet Town for the hunt against Professor Oak, who knows valuable information about the "Mark II." However, an unexpected friend flies in and helps him and Ash out.

More mysteries will be solved as the clock continues to tick.


	31. Memories

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

**A/N: Great... another entire month without updates to this story... The main reason why I've been somewhat inactive is that I've been working on my DeviantArt profile. I started a new series on there (A Lati's War).**

**In other news, I took down the entire holiday series, which I now plan to incorporate into this story (if I can remember all the dates... I'm bad with months... don't ask.)**

**The crossover fanfiction I've been working on has also been going downhill and with my partner owning the story and being busy all the time, I fear that's going to end soon, too.**

**Aside from all the depressing news... it's summer now! That means more stories (maybe 1 per week? 2 weeks? I can't be certain) and less work and- well you get the point.**

**Hope you guys enjoy the newest chapter!**

**Chapter 30- Memories**

* * *

There was a moment of silence and peace. Rei saw peaceful white light all around her and smiled. However, single, constant string of a beeping noises began to bother her. The sounds grew louder and louder by the second until it became a loud shriek. She quickly clasped her hands over her ears, hoping that the pain would leave her. Yet the pain continued and began to worsen. It seemed as if it was signaling something…

Something bad.

…

Alpha grimaced as he looked over both Rei and Blu. Both were lying on the beds and their life signals had shut off more than once already. However, it would always start beeping once more on the monitor. He reached into his satchel and pulled out the time gear. Only time would tell...

* * *

**Location: Pallet Town, Kanto Region**

"I'm home, Mom!" Ash shouted as he busted through the door of his small, cozy house.

Ash's mother looked up in surprise from washing her dishes. "You're back already?" she asked, more than surprised. Ash's journeys, even the small ones, would be away for at least 5 months or more. This one had only taken a week.

Ash nodded. "It was just a small trip, but it was fun getting to meet all my friends once more," the boy confirmed. He looked over to his shoulder and at his buddy, Pikachu. "Right buddy?"

"Cha!" the Mouse Pokémon replied in agreement. Needless to say, they were both concerned about what had happened in the city during their stay, but before they left, Lorenzo had persuaded them not to tell anyone else about the incident.

"Where did you go anyways? You left in such a rush that your note was hardly readable!" Mrs. Ketchum scolded.

Ash rubbed the back of his head. Knowing that if he told the location of the city, his mother would figure and piece together what had actually happened. Instead, he decided to keep low. "Somewhere that's filled with… Legendary Pokémon. I can't say where, though."

"Hmm…" his mother began thinking. "Alright," she said with a shrug, knowing better than to ask. "Dinner's almost ready, but Professor Oak wanted you to go to his lab for something. He didn't say specifically why, though." Ash sighed in relief as part of him wondered why Professor Oak would want him. After all, he could've just called. He put that part behind him as he bid a quick farewell to his mother before trotting down the path to the laboratory.

…

"This is Retrieval Alpha S, I have a visual on the target. I repeat, I have a visual on the target," the sniper radioed to his group as he peered through the binoculars.

…

It took some time to register, but Arceus knew what was happening and what would happen soon. He quickly called one of the Legendaries to take action. He hummed in thought to himself. Only time would tell…

* * *

**Location: Alto Mare**

"What happened to her?" Latias whispered worriedly, her words hanging in the tense atmosphere for the next several minutes.

Alpha checked Rei and Blu by stepping as close to the beds as possible and monitoring their life signals with a much more advanced device while staying as far away as possible from Nurse Joy. He couldn't afford to be discovered. Currently, the doctor was inspecting the other patients, although she still gave worried glances over to the two of them. It had been 5 minutes since the last life signal shut off and came back on.

"I'm not sure for certain…" Alpha mumbled as he looked at his holographic pad, then at one of the many monitors that floated around him. Of course, all of his equipment was also invisible to the human eye for obvious reasons. He glanced back at Omega, who was still leaning against the wall and staring at the glowing, green dagger.

Latios flew over and peeked his head over Alpha's shoulder to look at the monitors. None of the statistics made sense. In fact, none of it seemed to be in a language he knew. "So what do you think happened?"

"Well by tracking their soul condition…" Alpha murmured as his eyes darted back and forth between numbers and letters. All of his senses suddenly froze as he felt aura peak around him. After the energy passed, he was kneeling on the ground, gasping for breath.

"Are you okay?" both the Eons asked in concern.

The blue unit waved a dismissive hand. "I'm fine." He responded with ease as he stood up. "Our physical forms will be fading soon; we usually can't stay for this long."

"What happens then?" Latias asked.

"We'll fall into the same condition those two are in," Alpha explained as he saw his own body began to fade into light once more and grimaced. "Soul splicing has both its advantages and disadvantages. That can't be avoided."

"T-there has to be something we can do!" Latias protested.

Alpha nodded. "Protect these two. Make sure that they don't fall into his hands." The guardians of Alto Mare barely had time to react before Alpha generated an aura sphere and launched it into the medical machines, cutting off life supply to both Rei and Blu. The life signal went dead again as he smiled and felt himself fade away. He knew the attacker's plan all too well.

There was only one action to take now.

It was to end both of Blu's and Rei's lives.

* * *

**Location: Testing Facility- Unknown past date**

"AHH!" a blue haired kid yelled as he awoke abruptly and fell off his bed. Cold sweat dripped from his head and body. He took several deep breaths as he looked around at his surroundings. It was fine… it was all just a dream.

Every muscle in his body froze. No. It wasn't.

The boy took a look at his surroundings. Where was he? More importantly, who was he? Why was he here?

Suddenly, loud footsteps thundered down the hallway. The loud noises shocked the boy, and he suddenly felt himself locked in fear as three armed men kicked open the room's single door. Two of the men scanned the room with raised rifles, ready to fight as the third came through, unarmed. He squatted near the trembling boy.

"Are you all right, Delta?" he asked in a smooth voice. Delta. The boy looked at the small inscription on the man's bullet proof vest. On it said "Commander- Retrieval Team Delta." The boy gave several small nods. "What happened this time? Did something come in? Was it just another nightmare? Or was it something else?"

"I-it was just another nightmare," the boy stammered. Why did he feel so confused?

The Commander of retrieval team Delta sighed in relief. "Hold still," he instructed to the child as scanned him up and down with a device of some sort. He looked at the newly gathered information before nodding. "You're alright. Go back to bed now. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow." The man lifted the boy off the ground and tucked him back in bed. "Good night, Delta," he said before tucking him in and leaving with the other men.

The young child felt his eyelids flutter several times before finally closing. He breathed softly as he fell into deep slumber. The mysteries could be solved tomorrow.

…

Loud knocks sounded on the metal door. "Wake up, Delta!" the same man from last night shouted.

The young boy quickly shot up from his bed and dressed himself in the clothes that were hanging around the bedpost. In just seconds, he was out of his room and standing ready in front of the trio. The Commander of the team nodded in approval before leading him down the long hallway. Delta glanced nervously behind him. The rest of the trio was carrying very familiar electric staffs, although he couldn't remember where he had seen those before.

The trek seemed to stretch on for miles. Along the way, the young child had noted a number of similar rooms to the one he slept in last night. There were also other types. On one occasion, he saw a large room with numerous white panels lining it. However, he was quickly ushered on.

The group finally stopped at an area that held numerous large tubes, each lined up against each other. Delta looked at the names labeled on each of them and read them in his mind. Alpha, Beta, Sigma… There were many others, but he was pushed and didn't get time to read them.

After some more walking through the dimly illuminated room, he stopped in front of a chamber that said his name on it. He looked back at the three soldiers, who, after pressing some buttons to open up the tube, were leaving. "You know what to do," the Commander said before fading into the shadows.

Delta looked around a bit longer. The only light that was shining was from the small container. He stared at it a little longer. There was nowhere else to go but in.

He heard a hissing noise as the door closed on him. He felt cold air surround him as he succumbed to a deep slumber.

…

"Delta unit secured," the Commander of the facility reported. "It's your turn."

Epsilon nodded. After summoning enough energy, he felt his soul in his hands. The small light throbbed a little. It was his life… and the life of so many others. The soul split part of itself into a smaller piece. He winced as he felt pain jab throughout his body. Nonetheless, he ignored it and placed the piece into Delta's chamber. "How much time will this buy him?"

"His life's been extended for another century," the Commander reported. "I'm putting him into cryonic sleep."

"Call all the units back," Epsilon ordered as he began to make his way to his own chamber. "Put us all to hibernation. Time will tell when to wake us up." The Commander nodded before sighing and punching the orders into the control panel. It would be another long hundred years before he would see them again.

* * *

**Location: Unknown- Present time**

"You what?" the voice rumbled throughout the distance.

"I did what was necessary," Alpha replied as he stood up from his kneeling stance. "The so called death is only temporary and its advantages far outweigh any other option." He looked over at Omega. He was still silent, still quietly mourning for a loved one.

"What… sorts?" the voice asked.

"It will accomplish the primary objective of them figuring out who they are," Alpha explained quickly. "It'll also set him on the path for his…" he paused before replying. "Final assignment." The last two words hung in the air for a long minute. It was the same mission that Sky had taken. They never saw him again.

The giant figure seemed to nod. "Go wake them up. There is no need to worry their friends," he replied and glared at Omega. "Make sure that he follows his part."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

**Location: Alto Mare Pokécenter **

Bianca coughed as she frantically waved her hand in a futile attempt to dispel the smoke. What in the world had happened? She last remembered sitting in the quiet waiting room, but now everyone was in a panic. Thick smoke had started rising from the room, only to fade away in the next moment. There lay wrecked medical equipment, their components still sparkling with still live electricity.

Her heart fell. The explosion, wherever it came from, destroyed all electrical machinery just around her two friends, and neither one was moving. She looked uncertainly at Lorenzo, tears beginning to form in her eyes. He simply shook his head and motioned her to sit down. There was nothing they could do.

Latias flew back quite a bit after the explosion and coughed hard from the smoke. "Brother?" she squeaked in a small voice as she looked onto their two new friends. "Wha-"

Latios cut her off. "I don't know what he was thinking, but I guess we have to trust him," he replied softly, although quite bitterly. He couldn't sense Blu's and Rei's life force. On the other hand, it had started ever since they fell over, unconscious, but this time, the signal was fainter than ever before. He turned and left the room just as Nurse Joy and a few Chanseys came rushing toward the incident. Latias gave one more backward glance before following suite.

…

Time passed by slowly… too slowly in Latias' opinion. With the doors closed, no one could see inside or out, which on one hand, provided the doctors work without interference, but on the other, worried the patients' families and friends quite a bit. She grumbled as she turned around on the plastic chairs, trying to find a better spot to sleep that wouldn't hurt her back as much. Of course, she remembered to remain invisible and shifted her feathers once more to ensure that cloak.

The sun her golden eyes glanced once at the beautiful, bright moon. "Why had those two come?" she partially wondered to herself. There were so many questions that filled her mind that she so desperately wanted to ask. "How did Blu create another Soul Dew? Why was he training with my father all these years? Why didn't I ever see my father?" She sighed and tucked her paws in before taking in one more look at her surroundings. There were few people in the Pokécenter at this time, but it was agreed that the family would stay here for the night, waiting for Blu and Rei to wake up, no matter how long it took. She looked down the row of seats and saw Bianca lying down, head on Lorenzo's shoulder. Everyone in the center was asleep except her. She looked down at the floor, her brother sleeping ever so protectively next to the row of seats and smiled. He was still the same as before. She gave a small yawn before falling into slumber.

...

Something, or someone, was sharpening something metallic. The grinding noise began to become very irritating and soon, Latias had jolted from her sleep and almost tackled the green figure.

"Omega?" she asked somewhat surprised. The figure seemed to be like Omega, but different at the same time. It was simply a humanoid shape of green light, much like what Blu had seen before. He wasn't solid, that was for sure. He looked like a broken hologram. "What are you doing here?" She paused a moment before excitedly adding, "Does this mean that they're awake now?"

The green figure chuckled slightly as he tucked away the two blades, one of rusty metal, the other of a green shine. "Calm down with all of the questions, all right?" he asked. "Yes, I am Omega, to clear up first of all. Blu's still out, but his condition is getting better, which means I can talk to you for a little bit."

"That still doesn't explain why you're here, though," Latias replied in slight deadpan.

"I'm getting there," Omega responded smoothly. There was a pause. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as his voice began to break. "I just wanted… to say thanks for what you did all those years ago," he finally finished.

"Wait!" Latias called out. "What do you mean?"

Omega sighed. "Maybe another time. Just get some rest," he said as his voice and he started to fade.

The red dragoness blinked. One second he was there, the other second he was gone. She sighed. "There are a whole lot of questions they better answer when they get back," she muttered as she closed her eyes and began to fall back to sleep once more.

Meanwhile, a spy brushed back her green hair as she lowered her binoculars. Her usually fierce red eyes were dampened in tears. Perhaps he did still care for her. A small smile tugged on her lips as she leapt off the rooftop and simply vanished into thin air.

* * *

**Location: Professor Oak's Lab**

Ash knocked on the door several times. There was no response. He frowned and knocked once more. His mom had told that the Professor was here, yet no one was answering. Studying the building closer, he saw the all the lights were out. The sky began to darken even further as the day changed to night.

"Well buddy," he said as he turned to his Pikachu. "I guess we better get going. We can come back tomorrow…" Pikachu looked down before nodding. This certainly was a disappointment.

Just as they began to leave, however, the door swung open. "Is that you, Ash?" a hushed voice asked.

"Professor Oak?" Ash replied in confusion as he was ushered into the room. "What's going on?"

"I'll explain. Just place your pokéballs here," Professor Samuel Oak ordered as he brought up a tray. "What I'm going to say cannot be heard by them, alright?"

Ash did so reluctantly, but kept his hand on one of the pokéballs. "Whatever it is," he mumbled, "Pikachu's staying."

The Professor sighed. "Very well, then." He brought up a computer monitor, the only light source in the almost completely dark room.

On the computer, he brought up a picture of one of the Legendary Pokémon. "I understand you've been to Alto Mare recently," he explained as both Ash and Pikachu strained their necks to see the picture. "Have you seen this one?"

Ash bit his lip. He wasn't supposed to reveal the locations of the Legendary Pokémon, yet he didn't want to lie to the Professor either. "I know that's a Latios…" he replied in a small voice.

Professor Oak sighed, understanding Ash's reluctance. "You can trust me," he responded. "I want to know if you've seen this specific Latios."

Ash nodded and moved in, studying the Latios' features very keenly. Both of his eyes were white and a massive scar ran down one of them. His size, compared to the objects that surrounded him, suggested that he was much larger than most Eon dragons. Ash rubbed his eyes… where had he seen him before?

It epiphany suddenly came to him. That was…

"Sky…" he finally responded as he recalled the father of the Eon duo he had befriended a long time ago and just recently visited. The only time he had actually seen him, though, was when he was using his life force to bring back Latios, but Ash knew the father well.

The Professor nodded. "You would be correct there… but now I fear we're both in danger…"

Suddenly the door was kicked in as three men in full combat gear moved in, bringing their rifles up to bear. "Don't move," the soldier in front ordered. Ash's expression fell when he remembered who these people where too.

The infamous shooters that had shown up in Alto Mare. "Why are there here in Pallet Town?" he struggled to think.

With no choice, both Ash and the Professor obliged with the soldier's orders. Both were handcuffed and held at gun point while the commander held Pikachu, much to Ash's protest. "Come on," he ordered. "Let's move it."

The group were just outside the silent lab when Arceus' messenger struck. The man behind Ash was hurled at the soldier that was holding the Professor, both who were flung straight into a green portal in the ground. Seconds later, another portal opened up from the sky and the two fell, literally, from the sky.

"What the-?" the remaining soldier exclaimed, accidentally letting go of Pikachu in the process. This proved to be his major mistake as the Mouse Pokémon quickly spun around and hit the man with a massive iron tail to the chest. Ash looked around for their mysterious savior.

Another green portal appeared in front of them, and a very familiar Pokémon that both of them knew very well came out.

"Celebi?" Ash asked incredulously. "What-"

_'No time, you two,'_ the Time Travel Pokémon told both the humans in telepathy, catching Ash slightly off guard. Celebi quickly broke the handcuffs with a psychic attack. _'We've got to move, now!'_

The portal opened even larger and Celebi quickly flew through. Ash glanced at Professor Oak with an uncertain look. He just sighed and followed the Legendary Pokémon. It was just Ash and Pikachu left.

"I guess we're on another adventure…" he muttered as his buddy pounced through the portal. The few steps he walked that day sent him to somewhere far away from home.

One thing was for sure. Ash Ketchum would be gone for a very, very long time.

* * *

**Chapter 32: Questions and Answers**

(I'm not going to do that part where I tell you a bit about the next chapter... even if I only did it once. I think it spoils the content and puts me in a big problem if something doesn't go to plan... so just the chapter title will be shown. I'll let you guys think what will happen next.)


	32. Holidays: Father's Day

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon**

**Short Author's note: No this is not a replacement for chapter 32. It's coming along the way, I just had to do a little poem for father's day (yay poor planning on my part...) Might not be the best, but I hope you like it.**

**Revolves around Latias' POV before, during, and after the 5th movie.**

**Also, forgive me with the overuse of lines. I had to use something to separate the stanzas (or groups?). Each one is supposed to represent a part of time in Latias' life.**

**Chapter 32- Holidays: Father's day**

* * *

Dear Father,

Where are you?

Where are you and Mother?

I'm feeling a little blue.

...

Who are these people?

Please, I'm scared.

They stand as tall as steeples,

But, they cared.

* * *

Dear Father,

Brother and I have finally found you.

Dear Mother,

We are still looking for you, too.

...

We have heard of what you did.

We have remembered your actions.

We have followed your wishes and hid,

In our duty, we have no distractions.

* * *

Father, Father!

Team Rocket, I can't believe what they do!

They've taken you and Brother!

They've taken the Soul Dew too!

* * *

Dear Father,

Truly now, where are you?

Where are Brother and Mother?

Will I ever see you?


	33. Questions and Answers

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

_Thoughts_

**A/N: Okay... this chapter came a bit late. It took 15 word pages on Calibri and size 11. Also, this is around twice as long as my other chapters, so I hope it's good.**

**"Questions shall be answered and secrets shall be unraveled," a mysterious voice calls to you... Although I really think you're either going to be confused with the logic of the entire soul thing by the end of this, or eagerly waiting the next chapter... I really have no idea.**

**Well, enjoy! I know I can't keep up with any schedule, so just expect a chapter once every... week or 2 weeks or so.**

**lorddraco602: I thank you for sticking with me this entire story. :) and I will definitely not be abandoning it anytime soon. The story is far from over.**

**Little note to other writers: Don't abandon your story or give it to someone else. Keep it as a memory, and maybe someday, you will come back to it and remember the work you have done.**

**Chapter 33- Questions and Answers**

* * *

**Location: Alto Mare**

The next day arrived, as the sun rose, one of the guardians of water city stirred and immediately flew up. He looked around and saw that though his human companions were gone, his sister was still happily sleeping on the row of plastic seats.

He gently nudged her with his paws. "Psst," he whispered silently, careful not to disturb any of the other humans still sleeping in the room. "Time to wake up."

Latias, still drowsy due to Omega's surprise visit, moaned. "Argh… what time is it?"

"Time to go search around the city for anything suspicious, bad, that sorts," he paused and sighed before continuing. "Come on sleepy head. We do this every day. Wake up now!"

Slowly and reluctantly, the red dragoness dragged herself into the air and yawned. She was used to this routine… but it seems that she had fallen behind a little. She looked around. "Where are Bianca and Lorenzo?" she asked in slight confusion. Both the Eon dragons' ears pricked up. They could hear their friends talking in the nearby medical room.

"Guess they're filling out paperwork and making up a story," Latios guessed. "Come on, we've got more important matters to attend to." He flew out the open window, with Latias slightly dragging behind.

…

The red Eon groaned for the fifth time as the duo flew invisibly high above the water canals. That was when Latios began to worry. "Sis?" he prompted. "Are you fine? Is something wrong? Here, let me-"

"I'm perfectly fine," Latias responded, somewhat harshly. Her brother simply looked at her in shock and moved some distance from her. She sighed. It was hard enough waking up so early to guard the city… she'd stopped that routine after her brother passed away three years ago…

Also, Omega popping up. She inwardly groaned. Why did he have to show up? She was tired… so tired now.

Latios flew around and tried to move closer to his sibling. "If you want, I can fly the rest of this passage by myself."

Latias suddenly stopped in midflight and hovered in that position. Latios stopped and became even more concerned. "Sis? Are you okay? You seem to be acting a little-"

"No, no I am not okay. I am not alright!" she shrieked in a sudden outburst that drew the attention of several humans and Pokémon looking in their direction, even if they couldn't see the actual duo.

Latios cringed. He looked around. "You have to be quieter," he hissed. "People can't see us, but they can still…" his eyes locked onto hers. She was glaring at him and breathing heavily. Latias… was mad. And not because of the sleeping issue.

"I know all of that, but that's not what I'm worried about right now," she spoke in a low but firm voice. "Do you know how long it has been?"

Latios flew back, more than a little shocked. How was is little sister like this? He had never seen her this mad. "Um…" he started to respond, stumbling over his own words.

"Well?" Latias prompted.

"Three years?" Latios replied, his answer sounding more like a question than answer.

"Exactly," she told him as her gaze softened. She sighed and in a more soft voice, explained, "It's been three years that I had to live by myself with only Bianca and Lorenzo comforting me. I've learned how to take myself now. I've learned how to fight. I've learned to grow up." She looked at him with eyes that almost seemed to be pleading at him. "I'm no longer the little sister that you've known from three years ago. I've grown up, and I want you to treat me as one."

Latios blinked several times. He didn't know what to say. Honestly, he didn't. Time passed very differently inside the Soul Dew. To him, it felt only like a couple days. He couldn't tell exactly, but three years? Had it really been that long? He shuddered, not being able to comprehend an actual three years away from his sister.

"I- okay…" he finally responded, and she smiled happily. "Let's go back to the Pokécenter now. I bet our friends are almost done."

"Yea, let's," Latias said in a more happy attitude than the voice that had scolded him seconds before. "Oh, and one more thing?"

Latios sighed. "What?" he said flatly. If this was how every day was going to be like…

"Thanks, _little _brother," she said before taking off in the direction of their destination.

It took a second for the blue Eon dragon to process this. They were both born a long time ago, just minutes away from each other. Since he was dead and then reincarnated, he hadn't aged a bit since the three years ago. His sister on the other hand had still grown.

His jaw dropped. Where previously, he had been the older sibling just by several minutes, now she was older by three years! He was the younger sibling now!

_'Oh come on. Hurry up!'_ Latias yelled at him via telepathy. _'Slowpoke!' _Latios shook his head before taking off. Somethings would never change.

…

"Okay, just signed here and you're done!" Nurse Joy instructed. Lorenzo picked up the pen and began filling out the last of the medical paper work.

_'Hiyo!'_ Latias yelled telepathically to Lorenzo and Bianca as she burst into the room. The surprised Lorenzo nearly lost his grip and flung the pen into the air.

_'Shh,'_ Bianca whispered over the telepathic channel. _'He's doing some very important paper work. You can't disrupt him!'_

_'Oh. Sorry,'_ she told Lorenzo before limiting the telepathic channel to only Bianca. Latias glanced over at the plastic seats at where the now awake Blu and Rei were sitting. On closer inspection, they were playing tic tac toe on a piece of paper. _'So how are they?'_

_'Fine, thanks for asking,'_ Blu cut in before Bianca could reply.

_'Same here, but my head still hurts,'_ Rei groaned.

Blu spared some time and looked up. _'Where's your brother? Didn't he go out with you?'_

_'I'm coming, I'm coming!'_ Latios replied in a hushed voice as he slowly flew in, attempting to keep straight face to hide his shock.

_'Something looks wrong with you,'_ Rei replied as she studied his emotions.

Latios crossed his arms. _'Nothing's wrong,'_ he insisted.

_'Oh don't worry, _little_ brother!'_ Latias interrupted before nearly bursting into a bundle of stifled giggles. It took everyone a second to process this, going through the same thoughts that Latios did. Bianca smiled and took a seat before she lost control of herself in front of the nurse.

_'Well, that is quite surprising, yet somewhat expected,'_ a very familiar voice called out.

_'Omega, is that you?_' Latias asked, frantically searching around for the green figure. Even if he was invisible, he should still be visible to the Eon dragons.

_'Yes, that is me,'_ Omega continued. _'I have not shown my physical form or even a faint holographic form because of the energy it drains to do so.' _He gave a tired sigh._ 'We will talk back at the garden. There, I will answer all the questions all of you have had about Alpha and me.'_

Latias nodded and closed her eyes. There were plenty of questions to be asked.

…

"I guess it's been decided," Lorenzo spoke as the group walked— or flew— back to the workshop. "Welcome to the family, you two."

Rei smiled and nodded in thanks, happy to be accepted. Blu looked towards the ground and kicked a loose pebble along the way. The smaller, disguised Latias quickly noticed his depressed state. She, after all, had been through it too.

_'I'm pretty sure we'll fit in,'_ she whispered reassuringly in a private telepathic channel.

_'Yea… I guess,'_ Blu replied gloomily. Rei sighed. What would she have to do to cheer him up?

The rest of the trip back to the Secret Garden was filled with silence.

…

The Secret Garden was beautiful as ever. Nature was everywhere. Cool water flowed into crystal clear ponds, and lively Pokémon were exploring every inch of the nearly magical sanctuary.

Theta smiled as she walked down the paved, stone pathway. She remembered her father taking her on all sorts of walks through the forest, but that had been a long time ago. She sighed and sat down near a tree. Did he even remember her? She shook the thought away from her mind, trying hard not to let it surface, but it kept her up at night.

A small Pidgey, probably an infant, gave a cry as it stumbled from its nest and began the long fall down. Theta immediately lunged and caught the Tiny Bird Pokémon in her gloved hands. The infant looked at her fearfully, only seeing its own reflection due to her dark mask. She comfortably stroked its back several times to calm it, and the Pidgey gave a coo of thanks before Theta carefully brought it back to its nest, making sure that the small infant wouldn't fall from again.

There was a sudden gust of wind as a Pidgeot, most likely the Pidgey's parent, flew down and landed in its nest, cuddling next to its child. The Pidgeot eyed Theta warily, but after listening to the toddler's babbled story, nodded in thanks. She smiled back, even though her emotions were hidden under the mask. She heard several steps and quickly faded into the air.

…

The guardians of Alto Mare were the first to enter the garden, and upon doing so, heard excited commotion from the other Pokémon near the trees. They looked at each other before shrugging. They could ask later as for now, there were much more important issues to attend to.

Latias had psychically filled Lorenzo in about the discussion at the Pokécenter on their way here, somehow managing to keep a straight face when mentioning the entire sibling age revelation.

_'… and that leads us here, where Omega's supposed to answer some of our questions,'_ Latias finished.

The gondola worker nodded. "I see…" he said. "I've had quite a few to ask myself." He looked over at Blu, who was leaning against the wall, bouncing the familiar bouncy ball that Latias recalled during their time in the cage. "Can you call him out?"

Blu rubbed his forehead. "Alpha and Omega both have minds of their own," he groaned as he remembered the long lesson they gave to him about how the entire thing worked. "Even if they are tied to my soul, I cannot just force them out."

There was a small silence. "So we just wait for him?" Rei asked. Blu nodded, then shrugged, unsure about the entire situation himself.

There was a brief flicker of light next to his shoulder, causing everyone to jump. The light soon began to take shape until it formed a green holographic image of Omega. Of course, he was still in the same size as he had been in before. The same 3 inch figure that seemed to float above (or sit on?) Blu's shoulder.

"Hello," he greeted. "I apologize for my tardiness. I had to make sure everything was right before we could get started."

"You mean you dumped all of that on me," a second voice sounded as Alpha's shape formed in a blue light. Omega shrugged somewhat indifferently.

"Wait… what sorts of things?" Latios asked wearily.

"We had to link our souls to draw power from the Soul Dew," Alpha explained. There were worried looks exchanged between everyone, so he just sighed. "Of course, that would be the simple explanation. Technically, we are a part of Blu now, as a single soul. He created this Soul Dew." He gestured towards the pedestal.

"Wouldn't that still drain power though?" Latias jumped in.

Alpha sighed. "I'm getting there. The energy in the Soul Dew is much greater than what Blu has right now. It's like a recharging station. The two of us being here only takes a mere fraction of that energy." He paused as he let them process the information. "Blu's soul is linked to both Omega and me and the Soul Dew. Either way, the Soul Dew will replenish its energy from us or Blu." There was silence. "However, under these circumstances, if either Blu or the Soul Dew is destroyed, it would be the end of this city as they share the same soul." There was a grim silence. Blu blinked, suddenly realizing how much the importance of his life meant for the many others. "Now, I do believe that we have some questions?"

…

"I would invite you two to sit down, but…" Lorenzo said awkwardly as he pulled several chairs from the workshop and into the garden. He had a feeling this would take quite a long time.

"It is fine," Alpha replied. "We understand."

Blu cleared his throat, drawing in everyone's attention. "How exactly are we going to sort this out?"

"I suppose we could do this in chronological order to keep things simple and clean instead of bouncing around everywhere," Bianca suggested. Everyone agreed, deciding that was the best move.

"Rei," Alpha instructed. "Please give Blu back his part of the necklace." She did so and handed it over into his hands, where he then proceeded to put it back on his neck. It was comforting to feel something… familiar.

"Perhaps we could start with some family issues?" Alpha suggested, glancing over at Bianca. Everyone agreed, although it was just for this one time. He looked between Blu and Rei, motioning at their necklaces. "These artifacts can show the family you belong in. If two pieces connect, then the persons/ Pokémon that own them are related."

"So what you're hinting at is…" Rei prompted.

"You two are long lost siblings," Omega interrupted before Alpha could say anything dramatic… and probably stupid too.

A blanket of quietness spread over the group as Blu and Rei looked at each other. "Well, this is a little…" Blu started.

"Weird?" Rei finished before nodding. "Yeah. I guess it is…"

"That's not it," Alpha picked up, grabbing everyone's attention once more. "The necklaces must combine in a full circle to truly symbolize a family. As you see now, there are still two pieces missing."

Blu shot up from his seat. "You mean we can find our true parents?" he asked impatiently.

Alpha shrugged. "Maybe," he replied cryptically. "Maybe not."

Blu sighed in defeat as he slumped down in his seat. Latios and Latias looked at each other, knowing how it felt to have hope, and then have it slip from their grasp.

_'What is with the mysteries you give us anyways? Can't you just tell us about everything?'_ Latias offered, hoping to help the newfound siblings.

Alpha looked over to his partner, who sighed. "There are some things that we are specifically restricted from telling to all of you," Omega said.

_'By who?'_ Latios questioned.

The two enigmatic partners looked at each other. "Well," Alpha responded uneasily. "We have two main employers— if you will— that we work for. We're not supposed to say as doing so could result in us… being silenced. Along with most likely, all of you, too."

No one talked for a while.

Blu noticed the uneasiness. "Maybe we should change topics…" he suggested.

Lorenzo nodded. "I suppose we could. Problem is, where should we start in time?"

_'The part where we first met Blu and Rei. That's where most of the problems and conflicts popped up, no offense,'_ the larger, blue Eon dragon suggested, directing the last part toward the other pair of twins.

Rei shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Is there another away to tell the story other than verbally? It might take a very long time if we do." There was also the hidden fact that she didn't want to say her story. It made her feel… uncomfortable having to admit who her father, or guardian, was.

Bianca suddenly remembered a thought when she and Ash had first encountered Blu. She brought it up, wondering if they could go sight sharing into memories of the past. The boy in particular grimaced and pulled out of his satchel a still quite destroyed pair of glasses.

"We could just do it psychically," Rei brought up and the two guardians of Alto Mare nodded in agreement. That left Blu.

"Well…" he explained, somewhat sheepishly. "I never knew I was a Latios, so many of the abilities you guys have are still a problem for me. He," Blu paused, deciding not to bring up the name as he wiped a small tear, "taught me some psychic abilities. I suppose we could try."

"Four way sight sharing… and into the past," Lorenzo thought to himself. "It will be a difficult task. I'm sure your guardians would be proud of you."

Rei stood up and morphed into her Lati form, with Blu following suite, although somewhat uneasily. His… sister held his paw and gave him a smile. _'Everything will be alright…'_ she told him.

He smiled. Perhaps it would.

A blue sphere expanded outward as they began to see backwards into their lives.

…

Sound came before sight. As a bright light started to fade, Blu heard the familiar breeze calling him home. Then there was the audible sound of wooden training staffs hitting each other.

"Come on," a voice urged. "Get up."

Blu could see himself in a third person view. He looked around at the others in the bubble and saw they were seeing the same vision as well.

The child groaned as he picked himself off the grass and readied the staff again for another strike. The scene sped up, with the two of them exchanging blows with the staffs, relaxing under the shade of trees, or practicing psychic powers on certain objects, tossing those items back and forth. It was how everyday happened, and he was happy with that life.

"So. That's our dad? Huh," Latios whispered almost silently, although Blu was sure there was a slight bitterness to his voice. Blu shrunk down with uneasiness. After all it was his and Latias' true father, not his.

Numerous days passed by in minutes until it came to a night Blu knew very well… too well. Sky was just tucking him in, and a few hours later, the past Blu shot up, screaming at his new form.

"So that's why you never wanted to tell us much about how you figured about your Latios form for the first time," Latias snickered. Bianca shot her a disapproving glance before returning her eyes back on the scene.

Sky came in as his Lati form and held a psychic grasp on Blu's mouth until he calmed down. The child looked around at himself and then at his guardian, before being calmly tucked back into his bed.

The scene shifted into the mysterious basement, where Blu floated through the illusionary door in his Latios form to see Sky in his human form working on… something. The two exchanged words about Blu's parents and Sky gave the smaller Latios the piece of necklace he now owned, ant the past version of him left the room. Blu rubbed his own necklace. The scene, however, didn't change from there.

"I'm sorry," Sky said as he changed into his own Latios form. "My daughter and son. I never wanted to leave you there in where you were as orphans. There were things out of my power that tore me from seeing you. You… will understand one day."

And the scene shifted into black.

…

"What's going on?" Blu cried in alarm. He vividly remembered the next part, but it seemed that there was something stopping them.

Blu was asleep at this point; that was for sure, so how was this scene showing? Everyone exchanged worried looks.

"I don't see why we need to continue this ridiculous schedule!" Sky's voice roared in outrage. A vision began to form and Sky, wearing some sort of armor, was standing in front of…

… Alpha and Omega?

"I understand, sir," Omega responded almost mechanically. "I don't like it either, but we have to-"

"Have to?" Sky snorted. "It's hard enough living with the fact that my children are living alone, without a parent to care for them! It's even harder now that I can't see them through the Soul Dew." He rubbed his hand down his face and took a seat. "Why am I even alive?" he moaned. "My Soul Dew's has long been destroyed, and my son has taken that spot. Why am I here?"

"Our employer has given you a second chance to live," Alpha stepped in, trying to reason with Blu's master. "Not many have that."

Sky glared at the two. "Yes, I am aware of that." His expression softened. "It's just hard…"

A small figure, to the surprise of everyone, popped up in a holographic form just above Sky's shoulder. It said something that calmed him down, and the meeting soon broke up.

And the scene shifted.

…

"T-that was our father?" Latios spoke somewhat incredulously. His first impression on him had already been wiped. He still cared for them after all…

"Yes, although I was not expecting that scene to show up," Alpha interjected.

Latios clenched his claws into a fist. "Why didn't you let him see us!?" he cried at Alpha and Omega. Neither hologram moved. "WHY!? Answer me!"

Alpha turned around to stare at… nothing in particular. "That's the doing of one of our employers. He set out a plan we had to follow. I'm sorry. There's nothing we could've done about it."

"Well, why not?" Latios demanded, his eyes still stinging in a flood of tears. Latias looked over at the two guards, still sharing the same emotion, but leaving her brother to do the talking.

Alpha turned to ask for help from his partner, but Omega stayed silent. "The so called Atios and Atias Islands that Blu and Rei lived on don't exist in this dimension," he explained. "They're separated from the rest of the world by a space and time barrier. Your father should've been dead in this world, but his life was preserved in that dimension. If he stepped outside, even once, he would be no more."

"Wha- are you...?" This was coming from Blu. He almost fainted. That was the reason why they never explored past their little home.

"The truth is sometimes hard to bear," Lorenzo murmured. A blanket of calmness spread over the group.

"…Should we go on?" Latios asked, somewhat reluctantly. There had been enough surprises from what they had seen so far. Although somewhat reluctant to see what lay ahead, everyone nodded.

…

"Roger that, sir," a voice confirmed over some sort of radio. "Squad, let's move in!"

The scene began forming once more out of blurs and wisps. There seemed to be a group of armored cars surrounding the cabin and armed soldiers spread out everywhere. Blu's heart fell.

_No… Please no…_

"Move it!" one of the soldier yelled. "Blast that door down!"

There was one massive explosion as the fire arm tore the wooden door from its hinges. Troops began running into the small house, their weapons at the ready.

_NO!_

The scene began to move into the basement of the house before quickly dispersing into blackness once more.

"Wait," Bianca asked. "What happened?"

"No…" Blu mumbled as he rolled up on the "ground" and put his paws over his head. "No more. Please. I don't want to see anymore…"

"We can stop here if you want," his sister said, trying to comfort him to some degree.

Blu was quiet. He didn't really want to go through that experience again, but it was time, wasn't it?

"Since Blu is the only one with the experience of what he saw, only he can share with us," Alpha explained with ease. "If he is not willing to share, then we will not see."

"No, I… I can do it," Blu said in a trembling voice.

"Are you sure?" Rei asked worriedly. It was odd to be worried for another she barely knew, but they were siblings. They had to take care of each other.

"Yes… I'm sure," he said defiantly, and with a flash of psychic power, the scene began to move again.

…

"What's going on?" a terrified Blu asked in the basement, unknowing of the armed soldiers that had already moved into the only home he knew.

Sky psychically grabbed the only belongings Blu had with him right now: the satchel, a laptop, the glasses, and an emergency kit (which the present Blu had kept in his satchel). A small compartment opened in the side of the wall and Sky ushered the smaller Latios into it.

"Now leave. Don't turn back. Go and find Latias and Ash. Only then can you look back," Sky said in a hushed voice. The door closed with a metal clang.

"There he is!" one of the soldier shouted. "Get him!" Dozens of darts were shot at larger Latios, who, having no option to evade or defend from all the projectiles, fell paralyzed to the ground.

"We have one of them!" the trooper exclaimed. He looked around. Where was the other? "Blow down that door!" The shots fired from the shotgun, however, did not knock down this door.

"We have charges set and no time!" A trooper yelled over the radio. "Get out of there!"

One of the troopers carried Sky's struggling body and the group rushed out of the building. In the calm before the storm, there was a pillar of light that shined like a beacon as Blu was teleported from the area.

An explosion signaled the end of the only thing Blu knew as his home.

However, although it was what Blu knew was the end, the scene kept moving.

The explosion was contained by the shields set up the Humvees, which was what the planned had laid out.

The explosion faded and most of the vehicles drove off into the distance and onto several landing boats. All except one.

"Nice job, you two," the commander of the entire operation said, his face masked under a cloak.

"Just doing our job, sir," another replied. Blu's eyes widened. It sounded a lot like…

"Of course that's what you would say, Alpha," Omega replied as he twirled a knife in the air, not seeming to care at all for the now unconscious Sky lying on the ground. Inside his mask, he smiled and kicked the Latios, causing a groan to sound out.

There was a slight breeze and the hood of the dark cloak was flung open. "That's what I expect from you two…"

The vision began to darken, then finally they saw nothing.

…

"What. Was. That," Latios demanded as he panted heavily.

_ 'I thought we covered up that part,'_ Omega mumbled to his partner.

_'We did,'_ Alpha replied before blanching. _'This isn't good.'_

"YOU TWO TRIED TO COVER UP THAT!?" Latios snarled before drawing his claws. "I'LL KILL YOU-"

Lorenzo and Bianca barely managed to hold him back as he tried to lunge at the two holograms. Latias had managed to control herself, but still glared at the same two entities. Blu glanced over his shoulder at the two people who he thought he'd trusted in the new frontier before looking down, feeling betrayed. He wasn't the only one feeling betrayed, though. Rei had the same feelings down in her gut. She knew that man, that commander, that took Blu's guardian, and she didn't know what to say. She also knew that Latias and Blu knew as well because of their first encounter, but after a quick psychic message, both agreed not to speak of it.

It took some time, but finally, everything calmed down to have a reasonable talk. "Care explaining what in the world was that?" Bianca demanded. Blu walked away from the two holograms and toward the group. They would have to talk by themselves.

"Something we're not proud of," Alpha mumbled.

_'It's going to take much more than a sorry to patch that up,'_ Latios growled.

"So what the heck did you do that night!?" Blu shouted. "I thought I trusted you two!"

Omega glanced up. "First of all, kid, you should never had trusted us at any time," he replied, almost growling himself. "We aren't your friends. We aren't anyone's family. We don't have a family. We're at the mercy of our two employers and whatever they say, we have to do."

"I don't believe you," Blu murmured.

Omega paused his ranting to look up. "What?" he questioned.

Blu's eyes closed as he did something he was told never to do by his guardian. _Well, he isn't here now, is he,_ he thought grimly to himself. He let rage consume his body.

"Brother?" Rei asked, still getting somewhat used to the word. "Are you okay?"

Her brother's eyes opened, glowing in an unnatural orange. Light blue lines glowed across his body and what seemed to be a scar made by the same lines crossed his right eye. He let out a feral cry and immediately, both Alpha and Omega felt psychic energy pour into their bodies. What made it even worse was that they were part of Blu's soul, and he was manipulating that to the fullest extent. He forced them to come out into their physical forms, which put strain on all three of them, but Blu didn't care. All he wanted was revenge.

Soon, both were on the ground, screaming in agony and pain. Latias had first seen the Blu's action as sensible, doing what was right. But this… this was too much. He was killing them! She looked to her side and saw Latios' expression fade from a satisfied grin to a disgusted frown. To her other side, Rei only had horror. Latias didn't even dare to look at her human guardians, and after summoning her strength and courage, performed a powerful tackle straight into the smaller Latios, knocking him unconscious for the small, but necessary moment. For a moment, it seemed that they could see something under Alpha's and Omega's armor.

Neither of them moved for a moment, and everybody held their breath. If they were dead, well, Blu was a murderer. To their partial relief, both of them stirred and managed to stand up.

_'Well, I suppose that was to be expected,'_ Alpha mumbled to his partner.

_'Agreed. If we don't sort something out, there's a very likely chance they're not going to live for that long,' _Omega replied as he took a battle stance, staring warily at Eon duos.

_'I know what you're thinking and saying in there,'_ Latios barked as he cut into their private psychic channel. _'You've got a lot more explaining to do, and none of you are leaving alive until we get the answer we want.'_

"Very well then, guardian," Alpha replied verbally so everyone could here. "We'll give you the answers, but for now, the small talk is over." He looked over to his partner and gestured at him. "Omega?"

Before anyone could react, the green guard pulled out the ominous glowing dagger he'd been sharpening all this time and skillfully threw the weapon toward the group. The dagger arced gracefully through the air and landed with a thunk.

Rei had covered her eyes with her paws, and very slowly, moved them away and let her eyes follow the path where the blade had traveled. The blade had, to her shock, impaled itself through her brother. The smaller Latios' eyes were still glowing orange from the stance he was in, it seemed that he had recovered was prepared to strike once more, but the knife had put a quick end to that. Blu stared down at his chest in surprise before crumpling back to the ground.

"Brother!" Rei cried as she flew over to his still body. Alpha waved his hand through the air and the sightseeing bubble that had formed around them quickly vanished, leaving the entire group back at the Secret Garden. Omega drew out a cutlass and pointed it towards the group, clearly making a threat that he would throw another sword it if they made a move.

Much to their shock, Alpha motioned him to stand down. "Blu will be fine. Give him some time," Alpha explained, his tone calm.

"Fine? Fine!?" Rei exclaimed. "You just threw a dagger though him!"

"All of you, oblivious and stupid as always," Omega snorted as he retrieved the blade back through the use of psychic powers. "I suppose I'll be explaining this one. Blu is quite unstable with the current position he is in. That is reasonable considering that he is supporting both the entire city"— he motioned at the Soul Dew— "and himself. What you saw him try to do was a result of the instability of his soul by him simply letting his anger get the better of him. In simpler terms, the dagger calms him."

His words were proven true when Blu gave a small groan from the ground. The mysterious lines that had run across his body and the glow in his eyes were gone. With some help from his sister, he levitated back to his… fins and was back in the air. "What… what happened?" he moaned.

"You let rage take over your soul and became unstable. Then you tried to kill the both of us," Alpha summed up, causing angry glares from all around him. Rei simply gave him a big hug. Alpha sighed. "This is getting ridiculous and a waste of our time. You can finish telling the story by yourselves. Ask important questions."

The group looked amongst themselves. All the questions they asked had been avoided to some degree by the ominous duo. Latias looked around, and seeing that no one was speaking, spoke up. _'Annie and Oakley,'_ she began, drawing the attention from everyone. They had all heard the name from somewhere. _'Why were they here on the night of the kidnapping?'_

Bianca shook her head in confusion. "I don't see what you mean. Of course they were there on the night of the kidnapping."

_'Second kidnapping,'_ Latias added, causing Bianca to gasp. Latias looked at the two guards. _'Why were you working with them? Even a bigger question, why were they even there? I thought they were locked in a maximum security prison!'_

Lorenzo rubbed his forehead. He had seen the card with the two kisses on it, but hadn't added on the realization that the calling card was actually left by them. He suspected, but didn't know for sure. The gondola worker, however, knew it was definitely not a good idea to panic everyone at that time due to just a possible suspicion… but now…

Alpha glanced over at his partner. "I guess we'll have to answer something now, won't we," he murmured. Omega reluctantly nodded and sighed.

"We broke them out," the green soldier replied grimly.

"YOU WHAT!?" Latias cried. "Do you know how much of a threat they pose to the city we protect?"

"Yes, we do-" Alpha replied, trying to keep the argument rational.

"THEN WHY DID YOU LET THEM OUT!?" Latias continued. "They killed my brother and nearly destroyed our home! They could do that again!"

Alpha took a deep breath. This was getting out of hand far too fast. "The reason we did that was to gain reputation so we could join Team Rocket, pretend to capture you and Latios' Soul Dew, and then resurrect your brother."

"Even if you did resurrect me, the process could happen all over again. This time, they could succeed!" Latios yelled.

"We've taken precautions," Omega responded.

As the argument went on, both the humans realized something very odd. Alpha and Omega were talking back to a Pokémon, one that was not using psychic abilities. They looked at each other worriedly. Just who—what— lied behind the mask?

"Will they be enough to stop them?" Latios shot back.

"We… have no answer for that," Alpha admitted truthfully. He nodded at Latias. "They did escape the building before it blew up."

"Wait, what building?" Bianca asked, suddenly very concerned for her friend.

"Talk about it later," Omega growled as he waved his hand dismissively. "We told you that we set up precautions. Is that not enough?"

Latios shot a look over at his little—or big— sister and growled back at the soldier. "If I can't be for sure that my family and home aren't safe, then no, the precautions aren't enough."

"Yes, they very well are," Omega replied. Alpha gave a concerned look at his friend. He shot him a warning glance as a reminder to remain on the protocols they were given, but Omega blatantly ignored him.

"How?" Latios asked incredulously. "You don't even have a family to even know what it is like."

Omega was silent. "Whatever you're thinking," Alpha said, "don't do it."

"Keep all of that being rational stuff to yourself!" Omega suddenly snapped. He turned back to Latios. "There's a reason I respect and trust your father much more than you, Latios, and most certainly your sister more than you!"

Latias gave her brother a worried look. _'What is he talking about?'_

_'I'll show you what I'm talking about!'_ Omega roared as he drew out his cutlass once more. Alpha nearly panicked. His partner was losing his temper again.

"Voice command: armor lockdown Omega!" he cried, hoping that he could find a way to stall for time.

He couldn't.

Latios tried moving to avoid the crazed soldier. Surprisingly, he found himself stuck in the air, held in place by a psychic power. He could barely look around to see everyone else in the same position he was, even Alpha.

Omega drew the cutlass and put it near the blue Eon dragon's neck. "I've been waiting a very, very long time for this," he whispered before frowning behind the mask. "You don't remember me, do you?" Latios could barely shake his head. Omega sighed. "Then, perhaps, I'll help you."

The psychic grip was released on everyone, but despite how terrified Latios truly was, he didn't move. A long moment in silence passed. Finally, he spoke. "Who… who are you? What did I do?"

"I was an old friend," Omega murmured as he pulled his helmet off. "And you killed my family."

* * *

Hee... cliff hangers. You gotta love them and hate them. Everything will be revealed soon enough, and please stay around for the next chapter. I can promise you it has the same amount of violence as the first few chapters where Blu was kidnapped, for all those people worried about the content you read, you'll be fine.

And I promise you it'll be a good chapter. I've been planning a very long time for it...

**Chapter 34: Hunters vs. The Hunted**


	34. Hunters vs The Hunted

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

_Thoughts_

**A/N: This is soo long over due... isn't it. Well, reason being that I've been working on my deviant art account for quite a while. Sorry for the lack of updates, but I hope you like this chapter...  
**

**This took too long to make.**

**Chapter 34- Hunters vs. The Hunted**

* * *

Most of the days in the Secret Garden had been calm. Playful Pokémon, including the current guardians of Alto Mare, would fly around and play with each other.

Those days, however, were long gone.

…

Omega stared at Latios with his unwavering, red eyes. "Well?" he asked. Omega's face had caught almost everyone off guard. They had all jumped back to look at a… Gallade. The only exceptions were Alpha, who knew this long ago and Blu, who had his suspicions.

"T-that can't be you, can it?" Latios whispered.

Omega turned his back on him and crossed his arms. "It's me," he murmured.

Latias suddenly knew why the mysterious soldier had thanked her the night before. "Excalibur!" she cried, a little too happily. "It's nice to see you again!" She nearly got her throat cut off by the now dubbed Excalibur's cutlass when she came in close for a hug.

"Watch it," he mumbled before sheathing the blade back into his holster. He rubbed his eyes. "It's been quite a long time since I've seen you too."

"What's with the sudden harshness?" Latios asked.

Omega, or Excalibur, glanced once at the blue Eon before looking away. "Remembering what happened might be harder than I thought."

Bianca cleared her throat, drawing the attention of everyone. "Someone mind telling me what you're talking about?" she asked. Omega, after taking off the helmet, now spoke in a typical Gallade's language, making it impossible for humans to understand.

_'We'd have to put a psychic channel for the both of you,'_ Excalibur sighed. '_And frankly, that will get annoying.'_

"Don't worry buddy, I got it," Alpha said as he modified the Soul Dew as a temporary Pokémon-human translation device, having to constantly reassure Latios and Lorenzo he knew what he was doing.

"Speaking of which, how were you able to speak in human tongue with the armor on? How does the armor even fit you? From what I've seen, a Gallade shouldn't be able to fit in there… or have 5 fingers for that matter," Blu commented.

Excalibur sighed. "Long story and answers that I don't even know. Don't bring it up in front of Alpha," he added. He never wanted to hear Alpha's explanation, even 5 years since it happened.

"I heard that!" Alpha shouted as he walked back towards the group.

"Anyways," Latias continued, refocusing her attention back on the Gallade. "What happened to you? I thought you moved on."

"I'm… not sure," Excalibur admitted. "All I remember was that night of the attack and then nothing," he explained, his eyes watering the slightest bit.

"Oh…" Latios whispered. He didn't like the incident either. It was something Latias and he didn't speak about. At all.

"What attack?" Lorenzo asked. This seemed to worry everyone that didn't know.

"Wait, you mean that not even you know, Lorenzo?" Rei asked incredulously.

The gondola worker shook his head. "I know only two attacks on this garden, and I've been at both of them. I have not seen one with a Gallade involved. Latios, Latias, you two have quite a lot of explaining to do."

Bianca scratched her head. "I'll admit, I've never heard of an attack with a Gallade in it either."

"That's because you weren't around when it happened," Excalibur replied. "Twenty five years ago…" He winced before stumbling around. It was so hard remembering.

"Excalibur! Are you okay?" Latias asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," Excalibur responded as he shook his head. "The details are all… fuzzy. It's like I can't piece together the big picture." He stared at the larger blue Eon. "All I remember is that my only family's dead and he had something to do with it."

"How did you forget something, even twenty years ago?" Blu asked. "You're a psychic type."

Excalibur looked pained to reply and instead, looked at his partner for help. _We've broken most of the protocols already,_ Alpha thought to himself. He sighed. "Both of us were part of a project. I guess you could call it more of an experiment." He looked at Omega's— no, Excalibur's— widening eyes at what he was revealing at last. It was an important secret they were supposed to keep.

And they were telling it to everyone.

Latios shuddered at the thought. To be captured, then experimented on? "What did they do to you?" he asked, half of himself not even wanting to know.

"They first wiped our minds, making us forget everything in our previous life," he explained, grimacing at the last part. "They even made us forget we were Pokémon."

"So what did you think you were?" Latias asked.

Alpha shrugged. "I can't remember that feeling myself. They wanted to make us think we were soldiers, I guess. They tried to make us stronger and better than anyone we fought." He paused for a moment as he thought of the experiences. "They made us monsters."

"How? Excalibur seems fine to me," Bianca commented.

"True, but have you ever seen Pokémon wielding weapons? Holding hostages? Capturing other Pokémon forcefully?" Alpha replied. He continued on. "Breaking out Pokémon hunters and spies?" He shook his head. "We're already far gone from being a Pokémon… This is getting off topic. Anyways, after a period of time relative to the amount of time a subject has been under experimentation and several familiar events, a subject of the experimentation will begin to remember his/ her old life, albeit quite painfully."

"You sure know quite a lot about this," Rei murmured.

"Indeed. I have been in that program for much longer than my friend here," he replied.

"You don't know you're previous life at all, do you," Blu whispered. Alpha shook his head sadly.

"If we can help my friend remember his, it'll be good enough for me," he said optimistically. Omega, through all the years he'd been through with his partner, gave a small, thankful smile to him.

Latias bit her lip. "You sure you want to know about it?"

Excalibur nodded. "That was the last night I remember in my old life. Also…" He didn't finish off the sentence, but the Eon duo knew the rest.

"Are we going to go sight sharing into the past again?" Bianca asked with a hint of bitterness in her voice. "I think we've had enough surprises for the day."

Latias, seeing Excalibur's depressed look, decided to defend him. "Please," she begged. "The Omega I knew all those years back is different than the one we've seen now. It might be his only chance to change." She wasn't sure about the last part, but it made the longshot closer. Suddenly, Bianca had a Latias begging at her with large puppy eyes.

"Grandpa?" Bianca asked, and suddenly, Latias was his problem. The gondola worker sighed as he rubbed his own eyes.

"Can you promise me that there are no surprises?" he asked.

"We might have a couple extra scenes as Excalibur remembers," Alpha replied thoughtfully, "but we shouldn't have any nasty surprises, like the ones you saw that would make you question the morality of anyone here."

The grandfather sighed. "Very well, then. You may… proceed."

Latios and Latias looked over at Excalibur. "You do realize you've never done sight sharing before, right?" Latias asked, still concerned.

He nodded. "At this point, I'm ready to do anything to remember what they made me forget."

…

The vision began, back to the farthest that Excalibur could remember to. It was a grassy area, with a clumps of trees scattered around and plentiful bushes. All of it resembled a small park hidden somewhere in the water city.

"Looks like the park we had here…" Lorenzo commented.

"Thirty years ago…" Excalibur finished, with some sort of unreadable look in his eyes.

There was a breeze, revealing a young Gallade resting beside a tree. He stood up and began to walk through the park, making sure to stay hidden from humans by darting from the safe cover of bush to bush.

"You're a wild Pokémon?" Bianca asked from inside the bubble.

Excalibur shrugged. "I've never been caught in a pokéball, if that's what you mean. I don't plan on being caught anytime soon, either."

There was a faint sound of crying, and Excalibur quickly darted to a tree in order to observe what was happening from above. There was a small Ralts sitting in the open, tears falling from its eyes. A trainer looked at her once before turning to leave. The Ralts attempted to follow, but the trainer's fierce Houndoom growled at her and forced her to stay in the position. With one last glance around, the Pokémon trainer walked away.

Excalibur stayed in the tree above the Ralts and observed her for almost an hour. The Ralts began moving in the direction her trainer had left, but then stopped and thought better of it. Excalibur cocked his head, thinking to himself. _She can't be older than five years,_ he thought, a_nd her trainer abandons her?_ He shook his head. _Something has to be done._

The warm day had soon turned to harsh night, and the Ralts still hadn't moved from her spot. She was still crying, wondering why her trainer had simply left her. The Feeling Pokémon nearly stumbled over when the Gallade leapt from the tree above and landed in front of her. She stared at the larger Pokémon fearfully, not knowing what to do. She curled up in a ball and began muttering words.

Excalibur noticed that what the child was mumbling had mostly to do with the trainer and he grimaced. He knelt down to her and offered an apple. The Ralts looked at the food once, then at him, then at the food again. She carefully took it and nodded in thanks before hungrily eating the apple.

Excalibur stood up. His job was done. As he began to walk towards the forest, however, he found himself slowed by something on his leg. The Ralts had held onto his leg and wouldn't let go. "Oh come on," he murmured, trying to budge the smaller Pokémon gently from his leg.

"Daddy," the Ralts whispered and began to sleep right there and then. Excalibur didn't know what to say. He never knew his own true family. Smiling, he picked up the Ralts and walked back to his home in the forest.

Someone had to take care of her.

…

"I never knew you had a daughter, or someone close to be a daughter," Blu said as the vision darkened.

"I never talked about it, and for good reason," Excalibur replied.

"Are you sure you want to keep going?" Latias asked, a hint of worry still lingering her voice.

"Yes, keep going. No matter how painful it is, I must know."

…

The sun began to rise, its warm rays shining on the new family. It was sunrise, and Excalibur was already up, practicing several moves in a small clearing. He heard a faint cry and quickly darted towards it. The small Ralts had apparently stumbled into a canal while looking for him. She splashed around, attempting to swim before going under the deep waves. Excalibur quickly leapt into the water, hoisted her out, and leapt back into the safe cover of the trees.

"You okay?" he panted, hopping back to the ground, making sure that he was both behind bushes and had a firm grip on the Ralts.

She frightfully nodded as she was set on the ground. "Where's my trainer?" she whispered, tears coming to her eyes.

Omega gave one last look at the canal and shook his head. "I don't think she's coming back— Wait! Don't cry!" Seeing no other option to calm the crying Ralts, he picked up the child and rocked it in his arms, singing a small lullaby he had learned from somewhere in his long, forgotten past. "Everything is going to be alright..." he whispered.

The Ralts' crying had quieted, but she was still stifling tears. "If Mommy's not here, who will take care of me?"

It took Excalibur several moments to realize the "Mommy" was her trainer. He took a deep breath before exhaling. "I'll take care of you as your Daddy."

...

Several years had passed, and the Ralts had soon evolved into a Kirlia. She'd slowly learned her father's way of life. Avoiding human contact and staying close to him to stay safe were the most foreign ideas that had been first introduced to her, but she'd learn to adapt. Excalibur had learned that the Ralts', now Kirlia's, name was Themis.

"That's a nice name," Excalibur commented one day as they were eating fruits he had gathered. "Who gave it to you?"

Themis opened her mouth to speak before closing it. Excalibur was quick to notice the odd silence.

"Forget I asked..." he muttered under his breath.

"No, it's fine," Themis replied in a barely audible voice. "It was my trainer..." The Kirlia had stopped using "Mommy" when she had finally learned and understood what her trainer had done to her. Parents were supposed to take care of their children, and her "mother" had abandoned her.

"Hey. Maybe we'll see her again one day, and sort this problem out," Excalibur encouraged. "Actually, I promise that will happen."

Little Themis sighed. "Maybe... one day." She looked up, a smile on her face. "But no matter what, you're still my dad!"

…

Excalibur stumbled around in the sightseeing bubble before kneeling down onto the ground, gasping hard for breath. Latios and Latias both blinked, making the psychic blue colors in their eyes fade. They looked down at the Gallade. The peaceful scene around them faded to black once more.

"This is too much for you," Latias whispered. "We want to help you, but if it's going to hurt you that badly, we're stopping."

Latios nodded. "You're our friend. We don't want to hurt you, even indirectly."

"Well if you prevent my only way of remembering my old life, then you are no friends of mine," the Gallade muttered. He grunted as he stood up, reluctantly letting the Eon dragons help him up.

"You seem to know them pretty well," Bianca mused. "The only other times I've seen them warm up so easily to another as a friend are with me, Lorenzo, and Ash."

Excalibur locked his blazing, red eyes onto Bianca. "I like to consider your friends as a family of mine. They're the only other two I know that can be considered that."

"I'm curious to how you met…" Lorenzo wondered aloud.

"We'll get there," Excalibur grumbled, causing both Latios and Latias to look away in shame. He looked at them. "All is forgiven… but we still have to go through that part."

Latios sighed. "Alright, but is there any way we can make this easier for you?"

"I guess I could help," Alpha said. "The armor you wear no longer functions as a guise, so it's pretty much dead weight." He paused, somewhat reluctant to go on. "Also, it might be hindering your psychic powers."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Excalibur asked in a low voice.

Alpha shrugged. "First, because I didn't want to you to try punching me. Second—" he ducked just as the Gallade made a swing at him. "—orders."

Excalibur sighed. He knew that the orders had a high priority… even higher than their lives. Sometimes, they were things the partners hid from each other. "Fine then. Get this thing off of me."

"Confirm command," Alpha spoke.

"Awaiting command, unit Alpha," an eerie, robotic voice replied.

"You didn't tell me this thing could speak!" Excalibur exclaimed.

"Calm down," Alpha said. He sighed. "Voice command is just to speed up the process." He turned his attention back on the suit. "Disable armor for unit Omega."

"Doing so would break the protocols number 0521, 6743, and 0921. Tampering with this device may cause harmful effects on the user," the voice replied back.

"Override protocols," Alpha replied swiftly.

There was a small silence as the machine processed the order. Finally, it replied. "Negative. Access denied."

Alpha groaned. "Activate manual override," he demanded, clearly getting irritated.

"Negative. Access denied."

"Please tell me you'll let me access your main computer frame."

"Negative. Access denied."

"That's it. I never know why I designed these machines. Omega, I'll need you to stay still while I manually disable this stupid thing," Alpha said.

"Didn't it say not to tamper with it manually or it may harm the user?" Blu commented.

"Yea..." Excalibur said, not feeling too sure for himself as Alpha circled to his back and laid his hands on the bulky, rear power unit.

"It'll give him a better chance to survive when he remembers the crucial parts," Alpha murmured. "Ok. No matter what, Omega, stay still," he told once more.

The Gallade sighed. "First of all, stop calling me Omega. I have a name you know. Second of all, is it really important that I—"

He was cut off when Alpha suddenly formed an aura staff and immediately crashed it down onto his back. He stumbled forward, both dazed and shocked before he figured out what happened.

"What was that for!?" Excalibur shouted. The armor on him began crumbling into dust.

"For that," Alpha replied, smiling smugly while letting the staff disintegrate into midair.

"They certainly have an interesting way of doing things as partners," Rei whispered to her brother. He nodded somewhat absent mindedly. Something about Excalibur was wrong. He tried looking away before the Gallade noticed, but was too late.

"I guess you see what's under the armor," Excalibur said. He placed his hand over the "heart" that every Pokémon in the Ralts evolutionary line had. The strange thing about him, however, was that the front and back parts of his heart were missing. It seemed as if it had cracked off… or worse.

"What… happened?" Bianca whispered, simply shocked.

"We'll get there," Excalibur snapped, a little too harshly than he would've liked himself. He sighed. "Sorry. The horn that every Ralts, Kirlia, Gardevoir, and Gallade are supposed to have helps them sense emotions. Since I'm missing mine… it's difficult to control them."

"I see…" Bianca replied in a soft voice. Where she might've felt anger at him for the actions he had done, she now felt a bit of sympathy for him.

Latias stared at the wound before looking at his still determined face. She nudged her brother. "Come on. Let's finish this journey."

…

Themis peeked around the trunk of a thick tree. She was technically supposed to be at the home right now… but a peek at what secret thing her Father was doing wouldn't hurt, would it?

Her red eyes locked onto Excalibur, and she stared at him with awe. Her father was moving swiftly about in a clearing. Every now and then, he'd slash at a sort of training tree with his elbow blades. Suddenly, he stopped to inspect his work in the wood. Themis gasped. They had to be at least a foot deep!

Excalibur picked up on the sudden intake of air and quickly whirled around to see what was there. Themis immediately hid herself behind the cover of the tree. She pressed her body against the wood, hoping that Excalibur wouldn't find her. Several minutes passed in silence. Only the soft, summer breeze could be heard along with the chirping of several nearby Pidgeys.

She let exhaled softly. Maybe her father wouldn't find her after all. All she had to do was make it back home before he did, and she could avoid all the trouble she thought she was going to get into. She gave one last peek into the clearing and was quickly alarmed that her father had already left the area, probably already heading home. She slumped down at the roots of the tree.

_You just had to come over here and look,_ she thought to herself. "Oh dad's going to kill me…"

Suddenly, a scary face swung down in front of her, causing her to yelp and leap from her current position. She gasped for a while before realizing what was going on. There was her father, laughing and hanging upside down with his legs on the branches of the same tree.

"Was that necessary!?" Themis yelled.

The Gallade stopped laughing and instead, was trying to stifle the few chuckles he had left in him. "Maybe so… Ok, no it wasn't, but I had to pull that joke on you!" he replied back.

Blu wasn't sure that anyone else noticed, but the Excalibur from the past still had his horn, and from the further looks of it, it seemed that he was much, much different than the hardcore one that was in the present.

The Kirlia huffed. "You're so immature!"

Her dad hopped down from the tree. "You're ten years old, and I'm thirty," he reminded her before pausing. There was a moment of odd silence, and he sweat dropped. "Wait, I think I just defeated my own argument there."

Little Themis sighed. "So… are you going to punish me now?"

The Gallade blinked in confusion. "For what?"

"Leaving the camp to come see you in your secret place?" Themis replied, somewhat reluctantly and also confused that her father had forgotten. He would find out one way or another. Better to get it over with sooner than later.

The smile on her father's face had disappeared and he knelt down in front of her, looking at her with his serious eyes. "Do you know why I told you to stay there?" he asked.

Themis gulped. "No…" she whispered before pausing. "Yes," she corrected herself.

"Why?"

"To stay safe from other Pokémon that might want to hunt us?"

"And?"

Themis paused. There was another part?

"I don't think there was another one," she replied somewhat hesitantly.

Excalibur glared at her for a little longer before smiling. "Yea, there isn't," he confirmed. He stood up and offered a hand down, which Themis took. "I'm not going to punish you. Actually, I kind of planned that you would break the rules."

"Wait, really?" the Kirlia asked somewhat incredulously as she stood up. "Come on, Dad!"

Excalibur chuckled a bit. "Also, you're hiding something from me."

"No I'm not," Themis replied firmly, crossing her arms.

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not," the Kirlia insisted.

Excalibur raised an eyebrow of amusement. "There's a reason you didn't leave immediately after seeing me practice."

Themis sighed. There would be no escaping this time. "Fine," she admitted. "I want to do what you did."

"But?" the Gallade persisted.

"I can't be like you," the Kirlia said with a final sigh. She could never be like him. Gallades focused more with a dual typing of fighting and psychic, while every other in the Ralts evolutionary line only focused on psychic. She only had one route of evolution…

"Come here, I want to show you something," Excalibur said before walking over to a tree and digging up the soft dirt from the base of it.

"What is it?" Themis asked, curiously peeking over her father's shoulder.

"You'll see soon enough," Excalibur replied. There were several more seconds of silence and eager anticipation from little Themis until the secret was finally revealed. "Here it is," he murmured as he pulled the glowing object from its hole. It was a glowing blade that everyone recognized.

The same, mysterious one that the present Excalibur had been sharpening whenever he had the chance.

"Here," he said as he handed the glowing dagger over. "Some of the fellows around here say it was from my family… somehow." He scratched the back of his head, trying to recall exactly who. "I never knew them, but this blade always felt special to me in some way. I want you to keep it."

The Kirlia silently watched in awe as the blade was placed in her hands. "You might not be a Gallade," Excalibur said, "but if you want to become a swordsman, I'll help you along every step of the way."

With the biggest smile she had ever since her abandonment, Themis hugged her Father, tears pouring from her eyes.

…

Everyone was silent for a moment. There was simply nothing to say.

"Wow… so that's what happened before—" Latias said. She cut herself off. "Excalibur!" The red Eon quickly flew over to the Gallade, who had silently collapsed on the ground. Alpha said nothing but quickly hurried over to offer his own help.

"I'm… fine…" Excalibur grunted as he was helped up. The psychic blue in his eyes lasted a little longer before disappearing. "I just… need some time… to rest…"

"Or maybe just stop," Latios joined in. "We've seen enough."

"No we haven't," Excalibur whispered through clenched teeth. "There's a reason why I have the blade instead of her."

…

"Alright, Themis," Excalibur instructed in the clearing. It was the first day of the practice. "Give me your best punch." The Gallade put up both of his arms in defense.

The Kirlia nodded. With a quick thrust of her arm, she threw a hard punch her father's defense.

The Gallade nodded in approval. "Nice job," he complimented as he lowered his arms. "Next time try—" He paused, listening carefully in the air.

Themis was quick to catch the tension hanging in the atmosphere. "What's going, Dad?" she whispered.

_'Whatever happens here next,'_ he told her through telepathy, _'run as fast as you can away from here, alright?'_

_'What's going on?'_ Themis asked.

_'No time to explain. Just run at my signal,'_ the Gallade ordered. With that, he shot a jab into a bush, causing a sharp yelp from that direction.

Themis' eyes widened at the menacing, blue figure that rose from the shrubs and tackled her father to the ground. She stood there in shock, part of her wanting to help, the other telling her to run.

"Darn it, Themis, RUN!" Excalibur roared as he threw the figure off of him.

She needed no further urging.

…

The Kirlia barely managed to run 10 yards from the clearing before being ambushed a red version of the figure. It floated there, uncertain on what to do, but its appearance had been enough to startle Themis into paralysis.

It had also given everyone a clear view of what was attacking Excalibur and Themis.

"L-latias?" Bianca whispered in a trembling voice, her eyes widening in disbelief. "W-what are you doing?"

The past Latias finally seemed to make up her mind and set a firm face. Her claws extended, and a ball of energy began forming in between her paws.

…

Excalibur had regained balance after the first blast from his opponent. He glared at his opponent coldly.

"What… the heck… do you think you're doing to my family?" he muttered through clenched teeth as he studied his opponent's movements.

The Latios cocked his head as he studied his opponent's movements and returned the same gaze, not bothering to reply. The two enemies circled each other, neither daring to make the first move.

Suddenly… Latios melded away into the shadows. The Gallade was caught off guard and looked wildly around, earning him a strong Luster Purge to the chest. By the time he was back on his feet, his attacker had disappeared again.

_They're Legendary Pokémon. Why are they attacking us!?_ Excalibur thought to himself as he carefully studied his surroundings. Nothing was around him, just the calm breeze.

The calm breeze…

He closed both his eyes and stood still, carefully listening to any movements in the air. "There you are!" he yelled as he sliced his arm into the training tree. The giant piece of wood rocked uncertainly around on its roots before toppling over onto its side, causing dirt and dust to fly everywhere. Under the wreckage lie Latios, wincing in pain as he struggled to move.

Excalibur gave a small smile of satisfaction before wincing himself. Perhaps that Luster Purge had done more damage than he thought. He raised his arm to finish off his opponent until he suddenly heard a cry coming from the direction Themis had ran to.

Needless to say, he didn't finish the fight.

…

Themis was still shocked from the first Mist Ball attack from Latias, and shouted in surprise as she was launched into the air. Her body landed with a dull thud on the hard dirt, and she groaned as she tried to pick herself up.

She carefully scanned he surroundings, but the dragon that had just attacked her had disappeared. The Kirlia had barely stood up before being psychically flung into the base of a tree. She felt herself helplessly go unconscious just as the red dragon appeared in front of her once more. Again, it was uncertain, but it seemed to be determined to kill her by all costs.

Her attention suddenly shifted when a massive boulder crashed into the side of Latias, sending her flying wildly through the air.

"Themis? Themis!" She heard her father call out to her, but could barely respond with a psychic message. "There you are!" he shouted in relief. The Kirlia felt her body being lifted into his arms. "Don't worry. I'll get us out of this."

Excalibur shot a sharp glare at Latias, who tried to return the look, but faltered and failed. It took the Gallade a while longer to notice that first, these were just kids, and second, they were the spoken legends of Alto Mare.

"Listen," he told Latias as he stood up, making sure Themis was carefully secure in his arms. "I don't want to hurt you. All I want is to protect my family." There was a pause. "You know that better than anyone, don't you?"

Latias didn't seem willing to talk, but instead, gave a small nod. She didn't like her brother's plan at all…

Excalibur smiled at Latias and she returned the gesture. It was a peaceful… truce of sorts. Just as he turned to leave, one large blast blew him unconscious to the ground.

And the scene ended.

…

Latias winced. That had been pretty painful to watch again.

"Sorry," Excalibur said to the group. "There seems to be a gap in my memories. Maybe I blacked out, but I can't remember what happened next."

"It's fine," Latias replied. "We'll fill you in."

"And perhaps you could fill us in on what you were doing out of the garden that day?" Lorenzo asked in a gruff voice. Omega/ Excalibur was a… friend of sorts, even though he had just met him recently. He knew more of the mission… they couldn't afford losing him.

"It was Latios' idea," Latias replied honestly in a solemn manner. It wasn't in the way she would usually blame in those times when they accidently broke something inside the workshop. Every word that came out was somber.

Lorenzo looked at the Eon dragon. He didn't need to say anything to get him to talk. "I suppose there's no way I'm getting out of the fact that I almost killed another Pokémon, is there," he asked bitterly. The gondola worker shook his head. "It's hard enough living without a Father," he explained, feeling somewhat odd that he was talking directly to humans that could understand his Pokémon voice. "That left me with having to try to fill in the leading role to take care of Latias. I heard he hunted and I— well, I—" His voice cracked and tears were brimming in his eyes. He wasn't proud of his actions at all.

"You wanted to follow his footsteps," Excalibur finished. Latios nodded in a silent thanks before turning to regather his thoughts.

"You seem fine for someone who almost died," Bianca murmured thoughtfully.

The Gallade turned to her. "That incident was 25 years ago. A lot has changed since then. Mind that also at around that time you weren't born yet," he said before smiling somewhat mischievously. "Also, they're just children, and they still are."

"Hey!" Latias pouted.

Excalibur shrugged. "You're proving my point right there."

"I would say they're closer to being 'teens' than children, Excalibur," Alpha pointed out as he fiddled around with a broken computer.

Excalibur blinked worriedly. "Where did you get that computer?" he asked impatiently.

"I gave it to him to fix," Blu spoke up, recalling the time when Deoxys had nearly blown the device to millions of pieces at his first Legendary council meeting.

"That makes me feel a lot better," the Gallade said with a heave of relief.

"Why did you ask anyways?" Blu asked.

"Whatever Alpha builds or fixes has a tendency to explode," Excalibur replied.

"It's just a 50/50 chance now…" the blue unit muttered under his breath as he took out an arc welder.

"Ahh…" Blu said blandly as both he and his newfound sister both moved a significant distance away from Alpha.

"How do you know that we're closer to teen years and being children?" Latios asked curiously. "We've lost count ourselves."

"Then I'll help you remember," Alpha replied instantly. "Both of you are 103 years old. Latios, you were born 2 minutes and 12 seconds ahead of your sister. Technically, now, according to time scale number—"

"I think that's enough," Excalibur cut him off before he spilled every secret.

"Is he lying?" Rei asked.

There was a moment of silence.

"Regrettably, no, he isn't lying," Excalibur said, placing his hand on his forehead. Their employers would be so mad at them…

"So, what? He's been training under Dialga's supervision?" Latios joked.

"Maybe…" Alpha replied cryptically.

"Alpha…" Excalibur growled.

"Right," the blue unit acknowledged. "I won't talk about that stuff anymore."

Lorenzo gave a polite cough. "Should we keep going with the Excalibur's story?"

Alpha was quick to nod. "Yea, sorry. Just ignore me," he apologized as he flipped a welding helmet down in front of his face.

_'So… can we ask him questions later?'_ Latias asked Excalibur.

_'Maybe,'_ the Gallade responded in the same private psychic channel. _'He's quite stubborn with the rules… sometimes anyway.'_

_'Just how much do you know that we don't?'_ Latios asked on impulse.

_'More than Arceus,'_ the Gallade simply mumbled as his eyes began to glow blue once more. He had been unconscious for that part, but something told him he still knew what was going on.

…

"DAD!" Themis shrieked when all the dust and dirt that had been knocked into the air by the explosion finally settled down.

The attack that Latios had launched was definitely not near the power of the explosion against the tidal wave on one specific day, but it had still decimated everything around it. Trees were uprooted everywhere, wood splinters covered the rough ground, and in the middle of a crater lie Excalibur, too weak to move or even sustain consciousness.

And the Eon dragon was moving in for the kill.

Themis had rushed by her father's side, ignoring every safety protocol he had given to her to survive, and made a hasty Protect barrier.

Latios brought up his extended claws and, with a single swipe, shattered the barrier into mere pieces of green energy while knocking the small Kirlia aside. He began another Luster Purge to finish her off once and for all, and Themis grimaced at how the world would end for her.

There was no father to protect her now.

There wasn't anyone.

…

Latias watched with contradicting emotions fighting inside her heart.

She and her brother were meant to hunt. They were created to.

Her brother was following what he was created for, but did it have to be this harsh?

She thought about the little Kirlia's _father_, about his protection and care for his daughter.

She thought about the _kindness in his heart_ and the _cruelty_ of what they were doing.

She thought of the Kirlia's family and her one, lone _parent_… and then…

_Her_ family and _her_ parents…

…

"NO! STOP!" Latias shouted as she full speed tackled her brother into the ground. Latios, shocked by the sudden move, instinctively discharged the attack…

… Point-blank into his sister.

There was one last explosion before the forest went silent.

The explosion from Latios' Luster Purge attack had knocked him away from his accidental target, but he was quick to rise up to the situation once more.

"Sis? Sist!" he cried in relief as Latias began to levitate, shaking feathers off from her feathers. "What were you doing!?" he asked as he hurried over to help her up. "You could've gotten yourself killed!"

She coughed several times before going silent. "We aren't doing this," she simply stated.

"Doing what?" Latios asked.

"Hunting. We aren't supposed to be hunting!" Latias cried. Just the thought of it now pained her.

"What?" her brother asked incredulously. "But Father hunted!"

"I don't care!" Latias snarled back. She took a breath before gazing steely into her brother's eyes. "We are supposed to be guardians of this city, yet we are killing the people who live in it? It doesn't make any sense!"

Latios took a moment to process what his sister had just thrown at him. "Then what about our father?"

His sister shook her head in confusion. "I don't know, but I do know that we live in the life of rumors. No one remembers our father, and when we follow people's words, they very well may be lies."

Her brother slowly nodded, knowing that there would be no way to convince her otherwise. "Alright then, let's go."

"Wait," Latias said before looking down at Themis, who was trying to help recover her father's wounds. She looked up with helplessness on her face. Were the duo going to kill her and her family? "We have to fix what we've done."

"Please, move aside," she said gently as she moved in closer to the father.

"No," Themis replied firmly, but fear was clearly still in her voice, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

"I'm not going to hurt him, I'm going to heal him," Latias replied in the same tone. It would take patience to get to the young one's heart.

Latios saw the Kirlia's hesitation. He knew that she wasn't that good at medical care and that the Gallade would probably die without it. Die by the wounds he caused. He frowned. They were supposed to take care of the people in the city.

"Listen, let my sister heal your father and you shall never see us again," he offered, then paused. "I swear by Arceus."

Theta thought about what her father had said once. There were some times that you just had to trust someone, even if you didn't like them before. It was an odd feeling, but…

"… Alright," she agreed, hesitantly moving away from the only family she had left.

Latias went in, and true to her promise, she healed the Gallade.

The duo left, and Excalibur woke up soon after. He listened to Themis' excited chattering and smiled, knowing that both they had made it out alive and that the children had learned from their mistakes to be better.

Latios' promise… was something that was broken.

Not by the Eon duo, but by the daughter of the father.

…

"Again!" Excalibur shouted. Themis grimaced as she put another jab into her father's Protect. It had been nearly a month since they had last seen the Eon duo, and the promise had been kept so far.

The training session had started from sunrise, and now, it was past sunset. The two circled each other, exchanging quick, but strong, blows. It was another endurance run. Themis thought about her father's next move. The Gallade quickly jabbed at her right side, something she had been anticipating. She was quick to react fast enough, dodging her father's attack and while managing to get a blow in on her opponent.

Her father grunted. "Nice job there…" He winced. "I think we're going to have to call it a day for now… I can't move well."

"Come. On… Dad..." Themis huffed. She fell backwards from the exhaustion. "Actually… yea…"

Excalibur smiled before he sat down across from her. "You're unrelenting, you know that, right?" Themis smiled at the comment.

"How did you come up with your name, anyways?" Themis asked.

Excalibur paused, hesitating to tell the answer as if it was some kind of closely guarded secret. "Well, I-"

"Lock and load, troopers," an eerie voice called out through the forest.

"Roger. I'm right by your side, Delta," another voice replied. Before Excalibur and Theta could react, four armored troopers burst into the clearing, circling them. Four against two.

"Wait," one of them said as he held up his hand. He seemed to be the commanding officer of the group. Oddly enough, his armor barely resembled a Latios… "Wrong coordinates. Let's get moving." With one last look, he left, the rest of the team closely in tow.

"Where do you think they're going?" Themis asked. Excalibur didn't reply. All he had was a grim look on his face. The soldier that called back the team had intentionally sent him a psychic message…

… They were hunting Latios and Latias.

"Dad? Dad, come on!" Themis' voice shook him back into reality. "Something seems to be wrong with you."

Excalibur shook his own head. Latios and Latias were the protectors of the city, but he saw no reason to go warn them. They had even tried to kill his family! Yet… something didn't seem right about just staying here…

Themis had gone silent. She had read her father's thoughts. "We're going after them."

"No, we aren't," Excalibur replied, cursing silently at why he hadn't thought of covering up his thoughts better. "They aren't our problem."

"May I tell you that the sister saved your life?" Themis shot back.

"And may I tell you they almost killed us!?" the Gallade exclaimed.

Themis growled. Something had to be done. She promptly stood up and with a flash of light, disappeared.

She knew her father would follow.

…

"Sis?" Latios asked as he poked his sleeping sister gently.

"Hmm… wha?" Latias replied drowsily as she levitated into the air with her brother. "What is it now?"

"I don't know… I just have a feeling that something bad is going to happen." His eyes scanned over the Soul Dew. It was flashing rapidly, as if trying to warn them… of something…

Latias yawned before meeting her brother's gaze on the Soul Dew. "Oh…"

There was a bright flash of light as Themis teleported right in between the duo, standing dazed on the tree they were just sleeping on moments ago. _Jeez… Dad is so going to kill me for learning teleport without him knowing… _"Something— some group— is coming your way! They—"

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down!" Latios replied quickly. "Slow down, who's coming?"

Themis took a few breaths as she tried to calm herself down. The dragon in front of her wasn't trying to kill. She took a few moments to remind herself that she had come here to help them.

"They have weapons…" she whispered. The colored drained from the Eon duo.

Suddenly, Latios put his hand up. "Quiet," he whispered. The Soul Dew had stopped flashing. "They're here…"

…

"Orders, sir?"

"You know the drill."

"I guess we do. Just make sure that you don't mess up." The figure chuckled a bit. "We wouldn't want you to be replaced by your brother now, would we?"

…

Cool air rushed past his face. He wasn't sure what had gotten into Themis, but he gave her the benefit of the doubt. She was always one to help someone else in need.

…

"What do we do?" Latias asked, panicking. "Are they watching us?"

Latios sighed. "Hold on, I think that if we act calm, they'll-"

"Hands up," a voice replied. "We can do this the hard way or the easy way." A figure stepped out of the darkness. He was the same one the other three had referred to as commander, and the same that looked vaguely like a Latios.

Blu had a feeling that he knew that soldier somehow…

The trooper raised his rifle and pointed a laser sight at Latias.

"What do you want?" Latios snarled, putting himself in between his sister and the intruder while quietly motioning Themis to hide behind the tree.

"We want you to two to come with us. Simple, isn't it?" the figure replied.

Latios growled before turning his head. "Run sis. Don't come back." With that, he roared and charged the trooper, ignoring the pain that began developing on his body as the trooper returned fire. He managed to tackle the soldier down and keep him pinned. "Run!"

Latias paused and hesitated before cloaking into thin air.

The blue Eon, still trapped in the struggle with the soldier, gave one last roar before unleashing another point blank luster purge onto his opponent, knocking him out. The Latios gasped several times and tried to levitate before collapsing. Whatever he'd been shot with had drained most of his energy, but oddly enough, didn't feel that painful.

A second soldier slowly walked over, coming from his hiding position in the bushes. "You poor fool… you can only take down one of us…" he paused. "I suppose I should make this as quick as possible." He aimed his rifle at Latios' head, and just before he pulled the trigger, something green smashed him in the side.

"Wha-" Latios sputtered, looking up at his savior. Excalibur dusted himself off and kicked the rifle away from the groaning soldier. He gave a glance at the blue Eon and frowned before helping the dragon up.

"Where's Themis?" he asked quickly.

Latios started talking. "She was behind the tree when-" A red dart hit him square in the chest, knocking him out and causing him to slump over. Excalibur blinked in surprise before darting to the left, narrowly missing another dart.

The Gallade growled, and with a swift Vacuum Cut in the general direction of the sniper, eliciting a groan and then a clatter of metal as the soldier fell from the rooftop.

That was three soldiers… where was the fourth one? He looked down in shock to see that the first soldier had disappeared. Where in the world did he-

"Help!" a scream shouted. A very familiar scream.

"Themis!" he cried, quickly darting between trees to her location.

He rounded the corner just in time to see the commander aim a modified pistol to his daughter's head. The soldier looked at Excalibur before hesitating with his hesitation. However, the Gallade had also become unsure of his actions.

"Darn it, Delta!" a voice called out as the 4th soldier hopped from the wall behind and pinned Excalibur to the ground. "Do it!"

There was one last scream as the bullet was fired.

Then... silence.

"…Themis?" Excalibur could barely contain himself.

They killed her…

With the fastest reaction in his life, he turned around and pinned his attacker against the wall. "I'll kill you!" he roared, raising his elbow for a decapitation.

The fourth trooper laughed in the face of death. His face. "Look again."

Before Excalibur could even register what happened, the commander had pinned him to the wall with such force that the back of his heart broke off. He grimaced at the pain but managed to keep an icy glare on his attacker. The murder raised his knife, but just before the jab, a friend saved him.

A friend he remembered all these years.

"Get away from him!" Latias roared, anger blazing in her eyes as she tackled the trooper head on, causing the knife to go flying from his hands.

Excalibur gasped as the blade slashed through his front horn, but shook his head and stumbled over to Latias. "Are you alright?" the red Eon whispered, looking worried at his wounds. Not far away, Latios managed to regain consciousness and floated drowsily back to the group… or what was left of it.

The soldiers had disappeared once more.

Excalibur didn't reply. He was no longer panting. He could no longer feel emotion. He straightened his back and went over and picked up his daughter. He didn't even look back as he left the Secret Garden... something that was not a dream but a nightmare.

…

"Come on, dad. It'll be fun!" Excalibur thought he heard his daughter's voice playfully encouraging him during the day. But… she was gone. He lay by the tree, gasping for breath. He tilted to his left. The little house that Themis had seen when she was first accepted into the family. He slowly tilted his head to the right… and…

_No… please no!_

The troopers, standing there. One of them laughed. "Did you really think it would be that easy to escape us?" He patted the shoulder of the commander… the murder… "Come on, Delta, you know what to do."

The entire plan had been a set up. Excalibur and Themis were the targets. But… why?

He had no time to think as… Delta… pulled the trigger.

Everything went black.

He could just barely remember the faint voice of someone calling out to him. "Wake up, Omega. You have a long day ahead of you."

…

Excalibur collapsed. Almost everyone did. Had that really happened? The Gallade, who Alpha had known to be one of the strictest troopers, began to cry.

"Oh… Arceus…" Rei whispered before flying over to comfort him. Everyone did.

"What did they do to me? Why did they take her?" Excalibur sobbed. It was one of the few times he could feel his emotions. He started twirling Themis' blade in his hand. No. He could get the answers right here and now.

Without warning, he stood up and swiftly threw the blade across the garden, letting it arc gracefully through the sky before landing with a thud in the wall.

"Who. Are. You?" Excalibur growled.

Everyone else was bewildered. There was nothing there… but…

Theta gasped as her cloak fell. The knife had gone by just centimeters from her helmet.

Alpha sighed. "Excalibur, there's been something I've been hiding from you all this time."

"What is it?" The Gallade growled.

"Agent Theta, protocols 427," He ordered. The figure hesitated, before following the specified orders she had remembered a very long time ago.

She took her helmet off.

"Dad?"

…

_"All families will be rejoined… All secrets will be revealed… and all will be destroyed."_


	35. Testing Facility Blues

******Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.******

Well... it's been a long time. Honestly, i thought you guys stopped reading, so I stopped writing and nearly forgot about all of you. Anyhow, I'm a bit more active on my Deviant Art account (link on profile. If it isn't showing, just search up Latios1056.), so you can check there if you wish. I'm still alive and ok, and I'm hoping that you guys are as well.

So. How about we get into the story?

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

_Thoughts_

**Chapter 35- Testing Facility Blues  
**

* * *

"… Roses are red, violets are blue, another escape out of the facility… it's black against blue, and violet against red… before you know it, you're already dead…"

"Hey Iota," the Delta commander greeted as he sat down next to the… unit. The entire hall was deserted. There hadn't been much action for quite a while. "How have things been going?"

The unit shrugged. "You know better than to talk to me. Epsilon's rules," Iota replied- not in the threatening tone he usually used- but in a casual and calm one. "Not much has been going on. Without those two, I'm kind of stuck with what to do."

The Delta commander sighed. "Same here. We've suggested tracking down the units we've lost by sending their specific groups, but Alpha team has been going through quite a lot of trouble… I've never seen results that bad since… well… the beginning of time!"

Iota nodded, knowing that it had truly been around that long. He stood up. "Well, Epi's going to get mad at me if I loiter around any longer. He says that Alpha needs some action… or at least someone from this side to talk to."

The squad leader raised an eyebrow from inside his helmet. "You mean Alpha is still a loyal unit?"

Iota hummed in thought. "I wouldn't say completely loyal… but he is still taking several orders from us… and his other employer. I'm pretty sure that the rest have fallen, though. Anyways, we've given him orders, and he's bound to follow them at some point."

"If I may ask, what is he working on?" the squad leader asked as he drew his rifle. It was nearly his turn for guard duty, and the last thing he wanted was for the Commander of the entire facility to see him slacking off and talking to a unit.

"Have you ever heard of the SS High Seas?"

…

Betrayal. Traitor.

"You scum—" Excalibur yelled in anger as he sent another swipe at his former partner, only to be held back by Latios and Latias. "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier!?"

"Orders," Alpha replied firmly. He hadn't flinched or moved from his spot since he had broken the secret he had been hiding from his only, true friend.

"Orders!?" the Gallade exclaimed. "HE would never order something like that!"

"But the other one would," Alpha replied calmly. While everyone else tilted their head in confusion, Excalibur just let his mouth drop.

"I thought you knew better than to trust him," the Gallade replied, still gaping that that fact. "You couldn't have stayed with his side!"

"I am not on his side," Alpha replied. "You must understand that—" His words were cut off as he was hurled into the hard, stone pavement by his former friend's psychic.

"You idiot!" Excalibur growled as he stood up, ignoring the cries of the others around him. "You know better than to follow him! We only have one employer!"

Alpha clenched his hand into a fist before letting go. Blu ran over to him, but before he could say anything, Alpha cut him off with his own hand. "I just need some time alone." Time- something that none of them never had enough of.

He turned to Latios and Latias, his glare fierce before relaxing a bit, as if he was sorry. "You already know who planned that attack, and those who fought are here," he told them before sighing. "There was one thing your father wanted to give you two." Without even consulting Lorenzo, he walked back into the workshop, and after some time, came out with some sort of antique box. He handed it to Lorenzo and nodded. The gondola worker nodded back. With that, Alpha simply disappeared.

Lorenzo walked up to the duo, and handed the decently sized wooden box to Latios' paws, who fumbled around with it with some time before placing item down on the stone ground. _'What's in it?'_ he asked. He had to admit that curiosity was getting the better of him, but he still had to know what the thing was inside. Safety first… although Latias' poking was getting quite annoying.

Lorenzo shrugged. "I'm not sure where Alpha got that box, and even more unsure of what is inside it."

_'Maybe something that'll blow up in your faces,'_ Omega joked darkly as he walked close to Themis and leaned against a tree. He hadn't even looked at her. The Gardevoir looked down in shame. _'Whatever Alpha builds usually has a tendency do that.'_

Blu ignored the Gallade and transformed into his Lati form, slowly floating closer to the box. His sister soon followed suite. "There's a lock on it," Latias groaned as her brother tried picking it with his claws. However, there was no success.

"Let me try," Rei suggested, and everyone moved aside to let the little Latias try her luck. She placed her paws on the lock, but before she could even do anything, some mysterious force launched her back through the air several meters. She groaned. "What happened?"

"Maybe it requires a specific user," Blu wondered aloud as he awkwardly flew over to the box's lock, doing a small, unintentional loop along the way. He still needed quite a lot of flying practice.

"What makes you think that you'd be the one?" Excalibur snorted. The small Latios frowned.

"No idea. It probably won't even work," he answered before shrugging. He placed his paws on the lock, and surprisingly, the lock clicked open. There was no machinery behind it; it was as if it was magic.

Everyone held in their breaths as Blu pushed the lid open. And in it lay…

"… Someone's armor? Clothes? A helmet?" Blu called as he took out each individual item. Excalibur did a double take on the helmet and armor. Those were Delta's things. What were they doing here? The only reason they would be in the box was if they wanted Delta to arise again… but no, they couldn't be that cruel, could they?

"Hey! There's something aside all of that junk!" Latias exclaimed, peeking her head over Blu's wing. The items above were tossed away, forgotten, like they were supposed to be.

"Watch it!" Blu yelped in surprise as he began flipping in the air again due to Latias tipping him over. Latios sighed before righting his smaller counterpart with a psychic.

After a bit more rustling, Latias' head came out of the box, a metal device clamped in her mouth. She set it down on the stone path for everyone to see. "What is it?" she asked to everyone else. They all shrugged, except for Themis and Excalibur, the latter who just sighed. It was another invention of Alpha- the first bionic wing he had tried making for Sigma. "Don't touch it. That thing not safe," Excalibur warned.

However, curious as children were, one of them gently poked the device, causing it to fizzle and fall into pieces. "Oops…" Rei whispered. "I think we broke it." Omega face palmed while Themis gently chuckled.

The next item to come out of the box didn't actually come out. That was because no one was willing to touch it.

"Is that a rifle?" Blu asked.

Latios nodded. He didn't know much about guns, other than they were dangerous. "Don't touch it," he warned, before flying over to Bianca and Lorenzo, who had gotten tired of watching and had sat down in some of the benches in the garden.

"I want to touch it…" Blu whispered, slowly reaching his paw towards the weapon. It was as if he knew it somehow… and it was calling for him.

Rei slapped his paw away. "You don't know what could happen if it went off!" she hissed.

"Alright, alright!" Blu replied quickly and retracted his paw back before his sister could do any more. Latias giggled behind the two. Maybe she could try doing that to her brother. She was the _older_ sibling, after all.

Lorenzo walked over to the box and ordered everyone away. The rifle didn't seem to be any hunting rifle or some sort of civilian grade one, but rather one that was more professional and military grade. How they would get it out of the box was one problem. How they would explain it to the police would be another one.

Excalibur sighed at how slow the process was going and casually strolled next to the gondola worker and took the rifle from its box. Everyone jumped back in surprise. Blu gave a loud yelp as his sister held his hand and jumped into a bush, dragging him along.

The Gallade sighed as he inspected the rifle, making sure that the barrel wasn't pointed at anyone. A crude inscription on the side confirmed his suspicions. Delta's rifle.

"Are you sure you're licensed to be handling that weapon?" Bianca asked uneasily, her hand and paintbrush frozen in time and space.

_'Of course,'_ Excalibur replied casually. _'We've used these things back in the facility quite a lot.'_ He chuckled at the recollection that Beta would always get mad at Delta for beating her every single competition.

"You mean, back when you were being experimented on?" Latios asked.

The Gallade's expression fell. "Yea. When that happened." He brushed the matter aside. "Anyways, I'm still wondering how all of this stuff got here. Everything in this box has been something I've seen in the facility at least once."

"Even the helmet?" Blu asked, his curiosity peaking.

"Even the helmet," Excalibur confirmed. He knew what was coming next.

"Whose was it?" the small Latios asked.

"… A friend," Excalibur replied softly. It was too early for him to know… at least for now. _'It is best to start putting these things away,'_ he told Lorenzo, switching back to telepathy so that he could understand.

Lorenzo nodded. It was definitely a good idea. "But where?"

"Hey look!" Latias interrupted as she flew over to the box again and dug up something golden… something shiny.

Excalibur set the rifle down and scratched the back of his head. "I don't remember seeing those things."

The said items were necklaces, two of them cut into quarter pieces. They had the same design- Latias gasped- as the ones that Blu and Rei possessed, except for instead of a rusty metal, these had been replaced with an ancient gold.

"Woah!" she cried as she set the objects on the ground.

"Aww… why are these ones shiny?" Blu whined. His sister's sharp glance quickly shut him up.

"Who do you think they belong to?" Latios asked, tilting his head.

"I have no idea… never saw these things before… not this type, anyways," Excalibur commented as he set the rifle against a tree, the barrel pointing downwards.

Theta hummed before speaking. "I might've… I think." She drew in a sudden intake of breath as her father glanced over his shoulder and looked into her eyes. "If you guys want to know about it, I can help."

"Go ahead," Excalibur grumbled. He still had quite a lot to think about.

"I remember seeing these objects back at the facility," Theta explained. "Epsilon showed them to me… he said something about how they were supposed to show the true way to reuniting a family."

Blu hummed in thought. He had Latios and Latias put their golden necklaces on, and he and his sister donned their own. He united his piece with his sister's, and then Latios' with Latias'. They clicked together, sending a small burst of light. Now for the big part.

"Let's see if our parts will go together," the little Latios suggested.

"You sure?" Latias asked.

Her smaller counterpart shrugged. "Well, this'll probably make more questions than answers. Still, it'd be interesting to know that we were part of a family... quite a weird one, actually." Everyone chuckled. After all, what were the chances?

Then, they slowly moved forward to each other, and the two halves linked together.

Blu was happy. He had finally found his family, even if there were many questions in his mind. One bothered him the most, though. Who was Epsilon?

…

**Location: Testing facility- Present day**

Sigma's pen swiftly flew across the paper. The Director had told him to write down his thoughts and feeling into a journal in an attempt to be more…

… human. He despised that term.

He sighed and placed the writing utensil down and ran his rough hands through his black hair. Green eyes flashed from the paper to a nearby wall, before arriving to the paper again.

On the lined paper were thousands of words and statistics, all of them describing the conditions of the abandoned facility and his constant maintenance on the barrier that hid them from the outside world.

_The outside world…_ he picked up his pen and almost wrote the phrase down. He paused and reconsidered. The Director had placed him here because she wanted him to realize something… maybe… he needed to explore and venture out of the place he knew so well?

There were no windows in the giant library he was in. Burnt and rusted plates of metal that used to hold all information in the forms of a holographic pads now lie strewn across the ground in random piles. All of them had been damaged after the massive explosion that swept through the building the first time around. Actually, everything in the building had been damaged or destroyed except the main control room, where the Director spent most of her days locked up in.

She hadn't talked to him for around a week. She was fine, he knew that much. Perhaps there was something on her mind… maybe about her past. A lot had happened after most of the units escaped from the facility all those years ago…

Speaking of which, Theta. He had received her not about defecting, but the Director didn't seem to want to have anything to do with her. Not at the moment.

He thought of what else he could write. The first cruise ship in weeks after the attack would be arriving back to Alto Mare. Hopefully, nothing horrible would occur… he could only hope. His job was to standby and observe. Military forces around the world had begun to boot up again after hearing the attack. He groaned. What could he write?

**Location: Secret Garden**

Latias shrieked. "It's glowing! It's glowing!" she exclaimed with excitement as the four pieces connected to create the full circle. The completed amulet was indeed glowing with some sort of ancient power.

The object floated into the air and hovered, before floating back down into Blu's paws. "Uhh…" the small Latios stammered, obviously confused on what to do next. He looked up at his two other family members.

"So we— I mean— I don't…" he sputtered, trying to ask how they were truly a family. He had heard plenty from Sky about the legends of Alto Mare but had no idea they would _be _his family. He finally settled with, "How!?"

Latios looked as stupefied as his smaller counterpart and squinted his eyes. "I have no idea… I suppose that would explain part of the reason why dad raised you... maybe?" He shrugged before turning to the humans for their opinion. Both looked equally as baffled.

"So… we have two golden pieces belonging to Latios and Latias and two rusty pieces belonging to my brother and me," Rei wondered aloud before shrugging. "I still can't put anything together."

"Well… we are a family, I suppose," Latias replied. It was stating the obvious, but there wasn't much else that could be inferred.

Lorenzo sighed and turned to Excalibur and Thetis. "Do you two have any clue on what this means? They've never met each other before, and only now through a series of odd events."

The Gallade shook his head profusely, trying to think just what was happening. _'I'm not sure at all. Alpha would know more about this, but he isn't in the best mood right now.'_ He looked up to see Bianca starting to paint a new scene on a new canvas. One about the shocking and happy reunion of an odd family. He suddenly became very worried. _'Wait, isn't she going to expose the legendaries!?'_ he cried.

Lorenzo shook his head, but it was Bianca that replied. "I've been painting Latios and Latias playing together ever since I could use a brush. I sell some of my work on the market," Bianca explained. "So far, no one has gotten any suspicion about them."

Excalibur rose to protest again. _'But—!'_

"Dad," Thetis spoke as she placed her hand on his shoulder. She felt her spine go cold as the Gallade whirled on her, but managed to keep her confident and defiant stance. "They've been living like this for their entire lives. Let's just… let go and let them do what they want, alright?"

The Gallade frowned and glared at his daughter before reconsidering and deciding to set his expression as just a grim one. Perhaps she was right. They had intervened far too many times… in his opinion. _'Alright,'_ he conceded.

"Also, there's the fact that Lorenzo spends way too much time around the museum. It makes some sense that I would be somewhat interested," Bianca added to finish the argument. That did it. No one would be suspicious.

Hopefully.

_'Alright. I get it, although I do have one question,'_ the Gallade replied. _'Lorenzo, what did you do with the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare?'_ Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Latios and Latias shiver at the word.

DMA. The very object that had taken Latios' life.

"The machine is still being rebuilt," Lorenzo replied. "Why do you wish know?"

Excalibur stiffened and gritted his teeth. _'It is supposed to be destroyed!' _he cried. _'Why is it being rebuilt!?'_

Lorenzo's eyes narrowed. "Even past what has happened, that machine is still what protects this city."

_'Protect? Protect!?'_ Excalibur screamed incredulously. _'That thing nearly destroyed the city!'_

The gondola worker paused as he considered what he had just said. "How do you even know of that incident?" Lorenzo asked in a low tone.

A tense atmosphere settled over the garden.

Excalibur sighed. _'Latios' and Latias' father still had some communication— enough so he could see what happened… even during that night when his children were kidnapped. Alpha and I were given orders on our next mission.'_

"And you think that getting rid of the DMA will solve all our problems?" the gondola worker snapped back.

_'In matter of fact, I do,'_ Excalibur responded.

"Says the one that broke out the very murders themselves from a maximum security prison!" Lorenzo shot back. "The DMA has been in this city for generations, and has been part in defining what Alto Mare is. You are not just going to destroy it!"

Some distance away, Bianca had halted her painting to hear what the angry conversation had escalated to. "Grandpa seems to really want to hold onto the DMA…" she whispered to herself.

"The DMA has been cared by your family for numerous of generations," a voice beside her spoke. Bianca looked to the origin and found the Soul Dew and a holographic Alpha. "Old things are hard to release."

"I thought you left," Bianca commented.

"Yes, well, this issue is far too important to stay out of. I will intervene when necessary," Alpha replied.

_'The DMA is not a defining part of the city, the Pokémon who live here are! The Legendaries and the common are all part of it, not the DMA! That is only a weapon… nothing more, nothing less. It has already taken the life of one; how many other times does this need to happen?' _Excalibur argued. He sighed. _'Even Sky despised the machine. It was built by your family without the guidance of his.'_ Excalibur paused and looked at the other Eon Pokémon. _'It never protected the Eon family, did it? Only for your city, but not their family.'_

It was this point in time that Alpha intervened. "Lorenzo, I suggest you stay away from the museum tonight. We have been given orders from our employer, and any attempt for you to stop us will be futile," he warned. "And what of the Eon Pokémon? What do they think of it?"

Lorenzo's eyes filled with guilt before he looked down. He couldn't look back at Latios and Latias— how could he? He just supported keeping a weapon that had killed Latios once… and maybe even Latias.

Alpha nodded, acknowledging the fact that the conversation was over.

…

"Sigma," the Director's voice came over the intercom. "Set up a portal.

"Agent Theta," he called out, as a portal opened from the side of the garden. "The Director has agreed for you to move. It is your choice if you wish to remain with us or to move away."

Theta blinked several times at the portal. It seemed to be dark… mysterious… and… scary. Did she really want to go? The Gardevoir looked back at her father. It had been too soon since the two had reunited. She wanted to meet and talk to her father again… but did he even want her?

Excalibur had a sad look in his eyes before looking away. The choice was hers, not his.

"I… I wish to stay here with my family," she said. All of the people here were her family. Latios… Latias… Alpha… Excalibur… all of them.

The portal closed shut.

…

Dinner that day was odd… well, more odd than compared to usual dinners. Lorenzo had poured the Eon Pokémon food pellets into their bowls, but made sure he made no eye contact.

He didn't even talk to them.

Meanwhile, Latias, Latios, and Rei were all chatting excitedly about the prospect of being one, large family. Blu watched respectably and ate his own food, bit by bit— he was still getting used to the taste.

He wasn't talking, mainly because he had other thoughts on his mind. Iota and Epsilon… then Theta. He remembered hearing their names before… as if they were lost in his distant past. Theta seemed innocent enough. She was Excalibur's daughter, and had been lied and deceived to for all her life. He turned his head towards the duo, who were currently sitting at the roots of a tree, exchanging small talk. It would take a large amount of time to rebind the relationship that had been separated by the experiment. His inwardly groaned in pain. Why did the experiment feel so familiar to him?

"Hey, Blu," Rei interrupted his thoughts as she softly elbowed him. "How do you think we fit into the family tree?"

Blu was startled, but took the time to think about the question. "Perhaps… Latios and Latias could be our uncle and aunt… they certainly are older than us," he thought. "They can't be directly related to us, or else Bianca's family would know something of it…"

Latias nodded as she thought. "I want to ask Alpha about it, after. Just think of it! This is one big, happy reunion!" She waved her paws crazily in the air as if there was a party. Her brother simply shook his head before resuming eating his food. Even if his sister was biologically older, she would always be his little sister.

"At least this dinner isn't as crazy as the last one…" Latios commented.

Blu's face filled with dread. "Please… don't even bring that up…"

"Too late!" Latias replied before giggling. "I still remember… when Blu was trying to eat Pokémon food for the first time…"

"H-hey… it's not funny!" Blu said, his feathers turning hot pink with embarrassment. "I didn't know!"

"That was kind of obvious," Rei stated. "Still… you somehow managed to get all of your feathers dirty with food… somehow."

"And then Lorenzo had to give you a giant bath…" Latios finished, smirking, before frowning. Lorenzo was silently working in the workshop, but he had refused to communicate at all with them ever since the conversation about the DMA broke out.

The others quickly noticed the change in the atmosphere and also frowned. "Brother," Latias said. "How did it feel like after that night?"

Latios grimaced. "It felt like hurt… a lot… and then I felt nothing. It's weird. I could barely hear your voices as I felt my soul being lifted from the Earth," he described. "I missed you for a long time."

Latias smiled and gave a silent hug.

Blu observed his surroundings. "Where did Bianca go?" he questioned the others.

"Somewhere," Latios said. "She needs a tutor for something called 'school.'" He snorted. "If you ask me, it sounds ridiculous. Going there and sitting to hear some person talk about math and reading the human language."

Blu blinked. "What do you mean ridiculous? Math is the science of numbers, quantity, and space that can be applied to fix and solve certain problems. As for reading and writing, that is used as a main form of communication between humans when vocal communication is not available," the small Latios explained.

The other three blinked back uncomprehendingly.

"Wh-wha—!?" Latias asked. "You mean, you know what Bianca is learning?"

"Umm… possibly?" Blu answered in a slightly quizzical tone. "I'll have to see a worksheet or something, but of course, there is no way you have one of those—"

Latias flew to a bush and produced a sheet of white paper.

"Sis?" Latios asked as he studied the worksheet. "Is this the same one Bianca said was missing 3 days ago?"

"Uhh… that's not relevant!" Latias jumped in, trying to cover up her actions. "I just want to see if Blu can do it. Honestly, I can't understand a thing it says."

"Hmm… 5 times the square root of negative one…" Blu wondered to himself as he read over the questions. Before long, he had completed the entire worksheet, writing absent mindedly with a pencil also "borrowed" from Bianca.

"… and the square root of 64 is 8!" Blu exclaimed as he awkwardly fumbled with the pencil to write a crude looking answer onto the worksheet. The others simply stared at him with amazement.

"How— what!?" Latias yelled as she looked over the now completed sheet. Her golden eyes scanned the incomprehensible numbers and letters. "You need to teach me! Wait, no, actually—" she reconsidered. It took too much time, and according to Bianca, was too hard. "Let's just show Lorenzo. Maybe Bianca when she gets back."

Latias nodded. "This is quite the talent." He paused, and curious, asked Rei, "Have you learned of this "math" before?"

Rei simply shrugged. "Dad talked about it once or twice. He never got deep into it, though."

Blu saw the amazed reactions from the others. "H-hey, listen, it's nothing special, alright?"

"Sure, sure," Rei said, rolling her eyes with slight envy. Blu cringed.

"Well…" Blu declared, dropping the work supplies for the others to observe. "I'm going to go see Lorenzo. You can do whatever with that sheet." With that, he left the garden and headed back into the workshop.

…

"I need forty millimeter emplacements here… no, that's not right." The figure threw the holographic design into the garbage bin. "That's going to interfere with the landing strip."

"Alpha," a voice called, sending shivers down the figure's spine. "How is the ship going?"

"Working on it, Sigma!" the disguised soldier called back. He turned in his chair to meet face to face with a green, holographic soldier. Of course. He wasn't actually here, but his presence could be felt strongly enough.

"Estimated time?" another voice asked sharply. This was coming from a purple hologram of a different soldier. Unlike Sigma, whose armor was smooth and meant for training, this soldier's armor was sharp and aggressive. It matched his character quite well. "We need to know how much longer it will take, Alpha," it continued.

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Alpha cried, spinning to see his work. This was the hardest project he had been assigned with, and also the most important. The entire mission and people's lives counted on this ship.

"Well, work faster," the figure with sharp edged armor warned. "We have deadlines. All of us. Even if we don't agree on many things," – he glared at Sigma – "we'll have to work together on this one. Alpha, if you need any supplies –"

Alpha waved him away. "I know. I'm almost done with the ship. When will your team launch the attack?"

"Wait, attack?" Sigma asked incredulously. "What attack!?"

"1400 hours, whenever you're ready," the purple soldier replied, ignoring Sigma. "Be ready by then." With that, he faded away.

"Attack!? ATTACK!?" Sigma screamed. "What are you planning to do!?"

"It must seem that the ship is needed for the city's survival and protection," Alpha replied. "Even if we must sacrifice some for the greater need."

Sigma grimaced before his hologram disappeared.

"You will regret this…" Alpha heard Sigma say before he left completely.

"… Yea, I know," Alpha spoke as he continued the plans for the ship. "I will, but I need to do my part in this final assignment."

…

"… Lorenzo?" Blu asked. He tapped the idle gondola worker's shoulder. "Are you feeling ok?"

Lorenzo sighed. "I suppose not…" He paused and hummed in thought. "The DMA has always been looked at as a device of protection, but it has never been used that way, has it?" The small Latios shook his head. "I don't even know…"

"It'll get better," Blu advised somewhat cheerfully. "That's what dad used to say."

"Dad…" Lorenzo thought. "You do know that Sky is not your true father, correct?"

Blu sighed with sadness. "Yea, I know…" He suddenly had a thought. "What happened to Latios' and Latias' mother? They have well documented reports of dad— err, father— sacrificing his life for his children and city, but what about the mother?"

Lorenzo's eyes quickly scanned the area. "Promise not to tell the others?" Blu nodded, and Lorenzo relaxed in his seat. "My ancestors say that one day after Latios' and Latias' father had died, and when the two were still in eggs, their mother suddenly disappeared. Perhaps abandoning them." Blu winced. A secret truly better hidden away than exposed.

"Are you sure that's what the records say?" he asked, not quite believing the gondola worker's words.

"No one truly knows, but that is what they speculate. The best I have are old journals written by my ancestors." Lorenzo pulled from under his desk a box filled with dusty books, perhaps decades old. "You may read them if you wish, just do not show them to the others." He saw Blu's odd glance of why. "I trust you more than them, and even then, there is quite a lot of sensitive material inside them. Read carefully."

Blu nodded as he picked up a book from the box and began to carefully flip through the fragile pages with his claws. Lorenzo, seeing the young Latios occupied, left the workshop for the night and returned home, his mind still lingering on the creation that killed his friends.

…

Night had descended over the water city.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" a heavily armed guard asked as he and his companion darted across Alto Mare's rooftops, their bodies casting looming shadows across the ground.

"Positive," his blue friend replied as he looked down and fired a cylinder. "We're going to carry out the mission, no matter what it takes."

The two swiftly snuck themselves into the museum's entrance. As expected, it was empty, with the exception of the occasional night guard. The duo carefully made their way in the shadows until they reached behind the DMA.

"Time to blow this thing to kingdom come," Alpha mumbled as he attached small explosives to the most critical parts of the device; they didn't need much, and the last thing they wanted was to attract attention. He placed one in the Soul Dew holder, and several around the rings that had held Latios prisoner. Perhaps more than several, just to be safe. "How is it on your side?"

"Got it," Omega reported as he pulled out of the massive machine a small golden orb, the jewel that caused manipulation of the city's water. Also the one of all their troubles… and soon to be, solution. The armored Gallade stashed the orb into his satchel. "Let's move."

"Freeze!" a sharp voice cried out. Instantly, dozens of high intensity search lights inside the museum were focused onto the duo, who were caught in the act. "Place your weapons down!" Officer jenny ordered. There was a numerous amount of armed soldiers, stationed at the museum's entrance and the balcony where Bianca often used to paint, all aiming their weapons at them. After the first attack on the city, the usual sight of a happy officer and her Growlithe had easily transformed into the sight of armed guards, pacing around the street and canals, searching for any wrongdoers.

"Easy, easy, man," Alpha said as he stood up and placed his hands behind his head. His companion soon did the same. "No need to rush."

"You, idiot!" the police officer taking charge of the operation yelled at Omega. "Disarm the bomb!"

Omega reached down to one of the supposed bombs and hit a button on it. Several canals away, the cylinder Alpha fired exploded. The shockwave caught the police off guard, allowing the duo to dash through the front doors and blow the second set surrounding the DMA.

A massive explosion rang, but all the officers would survive. Alpha knew it all too well.

"That… selfish idiot told the police we were coming!" Alpha cursed as he leapt onto the rooftop of a nearby building. "I'll kill Lorenzo!"

"That's only if we make it out unnoticed and uncaptured," Omega murmured to himself as he spotted police boats swarming the canals, their search lights beaming.

"There they are!" Bright lights filled the night sky. "Open fire!" Rifle bursts rang out in the once calm city.

Alpha darted desperately across the rickety roofs, noticing most of the glaring lights were being focused on him. Looking over his shoulder, he spotted his partner successfully hidden in the shadows. Lucky Omega. Alpha had never trained so much in his physical abilities, but rather, with mental. He slipped as one of the pieces of the old roof gave way, and he fell towards the canal. A lucky bullet managed to penetrate his armor, detonating a spare explosive on his back. He gave one last cry before his body fell limp on the cold ground. As he looked up, he thought he saw the silhouette of his old partner. Omega seemed to laugh and say, "Sorry, orders," before melding away into shadows again.

…

"Officer Jenny!" a police officer yelled over the panic arising in the city. "Are you alright?"

She nodded before coughing. "All the breach troopers are fine. It's as if the attacker didn't wish to harm us… either way, the DMA is lost." She glanced back at the burning building. Incendiary explosives. "I have no idea why anyone would attack a museum… they're just legends and myths…"

"Well, we caught one of them. Not sure about how much we can get out of him right now, but I'll leave him to you," the officer replied. Alpha, in his tattered armor, was dragged in front of Officer Jenny.

She stared at the hostile trooper hard in the eye, and after a little bit of relenting, he looked back. "What are you doing?" she asked.

The blue soldier gasped greedily for oxygen before replying, "Fulfilling the final assignment." He passed out.

…

For Bianca Flores, her entire life had gone down in spiral since she had met those two new Eon Pokémon. She had nothing against them, but it seemed that where ever they went, trouble followed.

And now that trouble was in her town.

And it had just gotten a lot worse.

A massive explosion just outside. She jolted herself from her bed and quickly grabbed her clothes on. _There's a fire_ she thought. _No, the smoke is too thick and the explosion?_ She swept the thoughts away for now and marched down the stairs to barely see Lorenzo up from his cot, having the same emotions of shock and confusion as her.

"Out of the house, now!" he ordered. The two quickly filed out and into the alleyways. Suddenly, out of the black night, a dark figure landed in front of the two, its eyes and dagger illuminated with an emerald green. It blinked at them once before trying to dart off somewhere else.

Its split moment of hesitation and recognition, however, cost it dearly.

The city's armed guards swarmed around the alleyway, their weapons drawn and ready. Omega was cornered on both sides, but so were Bianca and Lorenzo.

"That's the Flores family," one of the troopers gasped in recognition. "They run the museum!"

Lorenzo's eyes darted to the where the museum was. Other tall buildings were blocking his direct line of sight, but he could see the thick smoke and soft light being emitted from the general direction. _What in the world is going on?_

The Flores family quickly fell back behind the safety of the armed guards, who kept their aim on the glowing green soldier. Omega flipped the dagger in his hand several times but made no motion to attack.

"Listen," a gruff voice rang out among the ranks. It was a voice of superiority and experience. Omega was willing to listen. "I don't know what you and your friends are doing in this city, but I suggest you stop." The massive figure stepped out in front of the ranks and faced the enemy. He was tall and had a muscular build, sporting triangular sunglasses, a green tank top, metal dog tags, army style boots, and desert camouflage khakis. His spiky, blond hair shifted slightly in the wind and even through the dark sunglasses and in the hazy smoke, Omega could make out a pair of menacing, blue eyes.

"Lieutenant Surge?" one of the troopers called out tentatively. "I don't think you should get that close. We have no idea what else he could be armed with."

"I am aware of that," the Lieutenant replied before turning to Omega. "I ask you to drop your weapons. I will not hesitate to give my men the order to open fire." Bianca let out a small gasp. Excalibur… a friend for so long… they would be willing to kill him? She wanted to speak up, but all the came out of her mouth was a small whimper. She felt useless and scared.

Omega gave no reply, and 30 tense seconds passed. "Very well," the battle hardened Lieutenant said with a pang of regret and he stepped back behind the lines. He hated killing anyone. Everyone did, but these were very different times. "Fire!"

Dozens of rifles fired once.

And Omega remained unscathed. He lowered his arm, which had been raised to block his sightline from his impending doom. There he saw a Gardevoir, her arms stretched out and a defiant look on her face. Around both of them, a green shield was formed. All the bullets had been deflected. She lowered her arms and put them around her father.

_'Are you ok, father?'_ she asked in a small voice, not knowing his reaction.

_'Thanks to you, I am,'_ Excalibur responded gratefully. _'But you shouldn't be here.'_

She shrugged. _'Teleport. You need to learn to love and hate it,'_ she explained before turning back to the gunmen. _'Please, stop,' _she told them. _'Violence never solves the problem. My… friend. He never meant harm to anyone.'_

"… Lieutenant?" the soldiers looked up to their commanding officer.

_There are never evil Pokémon. Just evil people,_ he thought to himself. Could he trust this Gardevoir? "Alright, we'll take him into custody."

However, the duo, in a flash of light, were no longer there.

…

The morning sun rose the next day, as with it, much chaos and panic. Most of Alto Mare's museum's main structure had been burned badly. The books seemed to be untouched, as if the fire was deliberately planned to only ravage the DMA. Officer Jenny took all of these factors into account as she strolled down the police headquarters and into the dull interrogation room. It was time to find out.

"Alright," she started, speaking to the blue soldier. "Let's start off. Who are you?" She gave him a quick glance over. His armor, although tattered, was still mainly intact; no skin could be seen. Also, the others hadn't been able to pull the mysterious trooper's helmet off. The reflective blue of the pilot helmet's visor shined her reflection back at her. He wore dark black jackboots, tipped with a blue accent at the front. There was a sort of airplane pilot related chest gear and suit that covered up the rest of her body—either way, it didn't look familiar… or friendly.

"I'm sorry, but that is classified material, Officer Jenny," the trooper replied. "Perhaps you would like to ask other questions?" It seemed that after his rest of being knocked unconscious, he was as calm as ever.

"Well, then why did you destroy the city's museum?" the officer questioned accusingly. "And why did you steer those unauthorized ships into our city and detonate them!?"

Alpha licked his lips before coolly replying, "I am sorry to tell you that once more, those two events are classified. However, my colleague and I are not responsible for the suicidal ships."

Officer Jenny blinked uncertainly. This was the only soldier or person, along with the other escaped trooper, that had any malicious intentions on such a large scale and could be accused of Alto Mare's first attack. "Then who—"

"That is what I am trying to figure out as well," Alpha replied before moving his hands in front of him and standing up from his chair. Jenny's eyes grew wide. He was supposed to be tied down. He awkwardly fumbled with her pistol and aimed it at the free soldier. She wasn't used to weapons. It just didn't feel right. To her horror, her only clip was in his hand. "I have plenty of intelligence that your agency lacks. In return for my freedom, I will give you what I know of all crime in this city and help carry out any operations you need help with." He paused, allowing the information to sink in. "I understand the first cruise ship in a month is coming next week? This city's economy relies heavily on tourism, if I understand correctly. Might want to make it safe, Officer. For the city and for the people."

She reluctantly moved her pistol down. He was correct on all of those things.

"Ok, tell me what you have," she demanded.

"Very well," he said gladly, sitting back in his seat and crossing his arms. "I suggest you sit as well, Officer. It is a very long story."

…

"YOU WHAT!?" Lorenzo screamed when he confronted Excalibur in the Secret Garden the next day.

"We told you to stay away from the museum that night," the green soldier replied furiously. "And then you tip off the police. Now Alpha's captured. Do you know how much he holds in his mind!? If those secrets are loose, this entire town is dead!"

"What choice did I have?" the gondola worker replied. "You destroyed my entire museum. You destroyed my life."

Excalibur turned his back. "Just be glad we didn't end it. The grenade we dropped next to your house was a smoke one, not a fragmentation. For all I know, both you and Bianca could be dead."

Lorenzo took several steps towards him, but Bianca was quick to block him. She had tears in her eyes, but she shook her head. It wasn't the right time to cause conflicts. Not now. They observed the sleeping Eon Pokémon.

"Are they still sleeping?" Lorenzo whispered softly.

The Gallade nodded. "Yes, a peaceful sight. Blissfully ignorant to everything that happened last night."

Bianca and Theta were both quick to notice Blu was missing from the group. Last night, Rei, sensing his absence, and gone and slept on the same tree with the guardians of Alto Mare. It was a nice sight, but it raised an important question.

"Where is Blu?" Bianca asked.

"Still in the workshop, reading," Excalibur replied nonchalantly. "He's taken very detailed observations and drawings of what happened during his study last night." He wasn't sure what the last part was for, but it was a fact. The kid was pretty smart.

"Still?" Lorenzo asked incredulously, trying to ignore the last part of the Gallade's sentence. "Most of the books are simply observations. Numbers. Statistics. I don't see how this would be helpful."

"In more ways than you can imagine," the Excalibur replied. Bianca looked on with slight confusion, not understanding what sort of books Lorenzo was talking about. Evidently, the Gallade had figured out. "We should probably pull him into a bed before he passes out."

…

Journals. Records. Blood samples hid in a cut away part of the book. All sorts of information relating to the history of the Eon family. He felt interested. Blu checked the time again. It had been a straight 6 hours, yet he didn't feel tired.

Looking up, he noticed the faint trails of smoke. There was a large fire, and he had missed most of it… yet, there had been an entire pile of notes describing the events. Blinking tiredly, he decided to ignore the sheets. He grimaced and stood up from the seat, stumbling a little. His vision started blurring. The books that Lorenzo gave him.

They didn't tell the full story.

He was fast asleep on the floor.

I must know…

For Dad…

…

Excalibur carefully carried the sleeping Blu into the garden and set him against the base of the Eon's tree. He had been in human form all that time… he sure had a unique way of living.

"You know," Lorenzo informed, "we have a cot on the second floor of the workshop." Even when they had arguments, it was a family they both cared for that kept them together.

The Gallade took off his helmet and scanned the scene. "No, I think he'll sleep better when he's next to his family." He smiled slightly as he saw Rei slowly inch towards her brother and give him a soft hug.

"A family together…"

_"All families will be rejoined… All secrets will be revealed… and all will be destroyed."_

* * *

That'll be it for now. I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to send me messages asking about anything- I'm happy to reply! I'd especially like to hear what you think is coming up in the next chapter. Future chapters might be a little shorter, but that means I can write more of them. Hopefully. ^^ Bye everyone!


	36. Two Eyes Scarred

******Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.******

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

_Thoughts_

A/N: So... it's been a long time since I've uploaded anything, I guess. I haven't really been active with anything, really, but I am not dropping this story at anytime.

Also, this is kind of the last chapter (I hope) that is too confusing.

**Chapter 36- Two Eyes Scarred**

* * *

It was another dream. He was drifting. Again.

He heard voices.

"So… what are we supposed to do with him?" a familiar voice asked, although it sounded slightly different.

"We follow orders," another replied.

"Good soldiers always follow orders."

…

"Brother?" Rei asked worriedly as she nudged his side. "Brother, please, wake up."

Blu remained on the tree, sleeping and groaning. He didn't look good. It was far past the afternoon, and he was still not up. Omega told her that he was very tired after doing something in the workshop, but that didn't explain his pain.

"Guys!" she cried to the others. Latios and Latias stopped their playing and flew over. "He's still in pain…"

Latios grimaced. "There isn't anything we can do… not until Alpha gets back."

Alpha. The healer. The spy. The secret holder.

"Where is he?" Rei kept asking. "Omega's here, so where is he? The two are always together!"

Omega entered the Garden, returning from a long talk with Lorenzo. The two had arrived at a truce. A temporary one, but a truce nonetheless. He scanned the garden and quickly spotted the small Latias. He hurried over and knelt down to Blu.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked in a hushed tone. Whatever he knew, he didn't want it to be known for the others.

"I don't know…" Rei whispered. "Where is Alpha? He can heal him, right?"

"Alpha knows a lot, but he's not here," the Gallade replied. "We must make do with what we have. I'll try to get him… although…" He shot a look at Lorenzo. "… that might be a little difficult considering the current position he's in."

…

"… and that's all I know for now, Officer Jenny," Alpha finished as he sat back in his chair, having kept his calm composure all this time.

"That's… that explains so much…" she stuttered. Alpha had just detailed everything he had been allowed to say, although he had changed some of them slightly as not to give away all the secrets. "How do we find their base?"

"Impossible," Alpha said with a wave of his hand. He looked up to spot that several other higher ranking officers had joined Jenny inside the interrogation room and were furiously recording notes. They looked straight up once the world left Alpha's mouth.

"Impossible?" Jenny questioned. "This corporation is at large with malicious intent! We have to stop it! According to you, it is more powerful than any other in the world!"

"Yes," Alpha agreed. "However, their corporation is worldwide and their headquarters is never in one location." The others blinked incomprehensively. "What I'm saying, Officer, is that we have a much more threatening problem on our hands."

Before Officer Jenny could ask another question, a beeping sound came from Alpha's helmet. He paused and listened to the message before abruptly standing up from his seat. "I need to go. And I need to bring Nurse Joy."

…

**Unknown Ocean- 5 years ago…**

Blu awoke to gentle purring of a steady engine. The smooth wash of the ocean waves. The gentle breeze of the cool air. And groaning. Lots and lots of groaning.

"Ugh…" Alpha groaned as he leaned over the side of the hovercraft. "I don't feel good."

Omega turned around and stared at the fiery wreckage of the former Testing Facility that now lay behind them. "Just be happy you weren't in that thing. We had to find some way to get off that prison."

Blu pulled himself up to his feet and looked around. Surely enough, behind him was nothing but ravaging fire as it consumed metal grids. Everywhere else was dark, except the lone full moon that shone up above.

"Hey, Alpha! The kid's awake!" Omega called. Blu quickly spun around to come face to face with a Gallade. He stumbled back, slightly dazed.

"Excalibur?" Blu asked. "What are we doing here? What's going on?"

"Excalibur?" Omega asked. "Who is Excalibur? It's me, Omega." Blu was even more confused.

A hatch opened at the top of the hovercraft as Alpha hopped onto the top. "He probably hit his head against something. Again," the Lucario observed.

Blu blinked several times as he tried to recognize the figure. "Woah woah woah, you're a Lucario?" He shook his head. "Alpha?"

"It's still me," Alpha replied as he looked down at the small child. "No need to worry… it's just that our helmets are off. That's all."

"I saw you before…" Blu said. "A Lucario as a blur of light in my visions…"

Alpha shook his head. "You must've hit your head really hard. I was with you from the beginning of time, and we just got you out of that place you were always trying to escape out of."

Blu looked back. That place. The giant building.

Then he realized.

The Testing Facility.

He started feeling drowsy as a black haze started clouding his vision.

"Get some rest now… Blu." Blu strained to hear Alpha's last words. "You have a very long day ahead of you."

…

**Location: Alto Mare- Present day**

"Follow and hurry!" Alpha hissed to his companions behind him. Trailing behind were two police officers, Officer Jenny, and Nurse Joy, who had reluctantly stepped out for a mission of "utmost importance."

"Remind me why we are following a possibly evil soldier throughout the city?" Nurse Joy whispered to Officer Jenny. Alpha had disappeared into the shadows, leaving the group at an empty and quiet intersection.

"I… I'm not sure," the officer replied, observing her surroundings. Where ever they had been led, all the paths seemed blend into one entire maze. That was saying a lot considering she had studied the city map ever since she started her career in Alto Mare. "But he told me a dear friend of all of us would die if you did not come to save his life."

"Well," Nurse Joy replied, slightly irritated. "I could be using my time to help others back at the Pokécenter. We don't even know if he just abandoned us here. For all we know, he could be lying to us! There are still those back at the Pokécenter that are still recovering from that anonymous ship attack. It could be him…"

Officer Jenny sighed, knowing that the nurse had a point. "Let's wait here just a little longer. If he does not return, we'll go back to the Pokécenter."

A sudden figure leapt from the rooftops and landed between the nurse and the officer, startling both of them.

"Freeze!" one of the accompanying police officers shouted as he drew his fire arm.

"Hold you fire!" Officer Jenny shouted. It was Alpha, back from the shadows. _We really need to regulate the use of our weapons_ she thought to herself. The police department wasn't always that effective.

"The way is clear," Alpha reported as he began to walk down one of the four paths.

"Hold on," Nurse Joy asked, halting him in his tracks. "Why is so important that I treat this… patient?"

"Because if you let him die," Alpha replied in a dark tone. "You let this city die."

…

The steady flow of water was always audible, yet the group simply could not spot it. They had been walking for nearly an hour, a duration of time which had slightly worried Nurse Joy. Before she left, Chansey had been put in charge of the Pokécenter. She could only hope that all was going well after so long.

"Chansey is doing fine," Alpha said, interrupting her thoughts.

"H-how…" Nurse Joy stammered, until the realization came to her. "You're psychic, aren't you?"

"… Perhaps," Alpha replied, a slight hint of mischievousness in his voice. "Perhaps not."

"Hold on, if you are psychic, that means you listened in to everything we've said and thought of since we left for this journey!" Officer Jenny said, her eyes narrowing.

"That is a possibility," Alpha replied once more, keeping his eyes on the road ahead.

"You've been testing us."

"Yes," Alpha answered definitively. "You are true with that statement."

"But why?" Nurse Joy asked.

"I need to make sure I can trust you." He glanced back at the two auxiliary officers. "All of you. The friend you are about to see is like a family to me, and this city. I needed to make sure that your morals were right."

Nurse Joy sighed. "Did that require walking in a maze for an entire hour, though?"

"Mmm… I guess not."

"But… it has been an hour! The patient's condition could be deteriorating now! We have to hurry!" Nurse Joy warned, urgency and worry rising up her throat.

"I'm sorry, but it has only been a minute," Alpha corrected. A white flash of light blinded them all, and when vision came back, they were back at the same intersection Alpha had started from. He chuckled. "This city can hide some very interesting illusions." The sun was still high, still in the same position before Alpha guided them into the long walk.

"I trust you."

…

The group faced the front of stone wall. Alpha had been staring at it for quite a while now.

"Well?" Nurse Joy asked.

"I am quite aware that all of you are familiar with the legend of Alto Mare?" Alpha asked.

Officer Jenny nodded. "There are two Eon Pokémon, a Latios and a Latias, that watch over our city. They protect the Soul Dew, which regulates the water flow through the city."

Alpha nodded. "Correct."

"But what is the meaning of telling us that?" Nurse Joy asked. "For all we know, they are just legends. Myths. They aren't real."

There was a silence.

"Nurse Joy," Alpha informed. "One of your ancestors came to this very place and saved the city by healing the patient. And now you are doing the same."

"Place?" Officer Jenny asked as she looked around. "What is so interesting about a wall?"

"Your eyes can deceive you. It is not about the wall. It is about what is behind it." With that, Alpha stepped through the illusion.

…

Lorenzo and Bianca were both on the stone balcony, near the Soul Dew pedestal, talking worriedly with Omega. Rei was levitating close to her brother, who was still groaning on the grass. Latias had her arm wrapped protectively around her smaller counterpart. Latios was doing the Lati equivalent of pacing around the garden, frustrated that he could not help.

"Where is he!?" Latios cried, flying up to Omega.

"He will be here soon. Soon enough."

…

It was the most beautiful place they had ever seen in their lives. The pure green leaves filled the branches, the cool water flowed down from the fountain into the ponds, and the soft wind softly blowing through mystical chimes truly calmed the soul.

Nurse Joy smiled… until she heard something sad. It almost sound like whimpering. Someone was crying. She looked down and gasped. A… Latias. The legends were true.

"Humans!" Latios cried, immediately diving towards them with a head on tackle. Nurse Joy opened her mouth to shout. They were here to help! However, no words could be expressed though her surprise and shock.

"Brother, no!" Latias shrieked.

As Latios' dive tackled began to streak closer to the group of humans, Alpha placed his right hand forward. All of a sudden, everything in Latios' vision flashed with a gray tint before returning back to normal. When the confusion was over, he realized that his tackle had stopped – he was levitating mere centimeters from Alpha's gloved hand.

"I think that's enough, Latios. They're here to help," he told the protective brother. Immediately, Latios began to calm down. It was as if a calm aura had entered his body. He suddenly understood and looked a Nurse Joy, backing away slightly.

"T-they… they're real…" Nurse Joy gasped, stumbling as the legendary Pokémon looked at her. She glanced over at the Soul Dew. "The legends are real…"

Alpha coughed. "Nurse Joy… please…"

She snapped back to attention. "Yes, of course. Who am I helping?"

Alpha motioned to some grasses below a large tree with a swing attached to it. There was a very small Latios, coughing and groaning, yet not waking up. There was one small Latias and another of regular size who were watching worriedly. "He needs dire help. Unfortunately… I do not have any equipment or supplies."

Nurse Joy hummed in thought. She had left her bag of supplies back at the Pokécenter by accident. It was too late now; she didn't even know the path back.

Lorenzo coughed, walking over with a plastic bag filled with potions and first aid kits. "It's not much, but I hope it can do something. I'll send Bianca down to the market to grab what you need."

"Wait," Officer Jenny said as Nurse Joy took the bag. "You know these soldiers and the legends Pokémon?"

Lorenzo winced. "It… is quite a long story. We can discuss after Nurse Joy is done."

Nurse Joy quickly scribbled scrawled down a list of items before handing it to Bianca, who glanced at the sheet before quickly trotting out of the garden.

The nurse pulled out the supplies available and began her best to heal the little Latios.

All she could wonder was what was happening inside his mind. What had he been through?

…

**Unknown Ocean- 5 years ago…**

"Well… this is the place," Alpha said as he hoisted the kid over his shoulder and stepped off the boat. A small island and a partly built wooden cabin situated in the middle. It was pretty much deserted… every square inch of it. "Seriously, who is living here?"

"Maybe whoever is— or was— here wanted to live in secrecy. Somewhere away from everything we've left behind," Omega suggested with a shrug. "Who knows? There's a lot of the world we still haven't visited."

There was a long silence as the lone wind ruffled the soft tree leaves.

"Hey, about what he was yelling about…"

"That wouldn't be the first time."

"Yea… I suppose."

_"Time… time is an odd thing, isn't it?"_

…

He was somewhere… An island of rock in the middle of nowhere? The scene quickly faded and changed to one showing a massive building. Blu shook his head as he looked at the structure. It looked identical to the one that had burned down… The scene went black. He could hear arguing. Something about "the Brother." Something about "the Son." Corruption… two sides of every story, of every person.

And then… a storm.

First, a gust of wind. A breeze. It felt brief… comforting… enlightening…

Then the storm hit. Destruction… fire… everywhere…

The sky? The ocean? He was too disorientated. Too confused. Too… too tired…


	37. Remember

******Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.******

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

_Thoughts_

A/N: Well, shorter chapter than usual. Hope it makes a bit more sense this time, though. Enjoy!

**Chapter 37- Remember**

* * *

"Delta? Delta!"

The young soldier snapped to attention. "Yes, sir!"

Sigma shook his head. "Jeez… calm down…" he told, shaking his head. The black with green accents armored soldier leaned against the outside wall of the Facility, next to Delta.

Delta paused hesitantly, before leaning against the wall as well. Sigma seemed quite calm.

"So…" Sigma started, somewhat awkwardly, "how has father's therapy sessions been going?"

Delta shrugged. "Father says I'm making progress. To be honest, it doesn't feel like anything's changing."

Sigma dwelled on the thought. "Well, they're made to be gradual…"

"Yea, I suppose," Delta said with a sad sigh. "Do you think that Father thinks I'm a… defect?"

"Defect?" Sigma asked, the statement catching his ear's attention. "No, neither of us are defects. What makes you think that?"

Delta kicked a rock. It skipped across the rough ground several times before being devoured by the rough ocean. "Father says that every now and then, I go crazy, calling him a monster and all."

There was a moment of peace.

"Could that voice be true?"

…

We were talking with each other that day. Delta and I. Happy as we could be. Free of conflict, free of sadness. Then… she came…

…

Alpha stood beside the tree, crossing his arms in an authoritative way. His eyes scanned the garden. Once. Twice. Still no sign of danger.

Next to him, Nurse Joy tirelessly worked to save the small Latios. She simply didn't understand his condition. Nothing as bad as this had happened before. Being stuck in a coma, constantly in pain… it must be terrible.

She glanced over her shoulder at the other three Eon dragons. The smaller latias was still sobbing for her brother. It must be even worse for them.

"How is the progress?" Alpha asked, his muffled voice startling the poor nurse.

She sighed and looked down at the groaning Latios. "I've managed to stabilize him. His pain should also be reduced with the medicine Bianca got from the Pokécenter." She paused and thought for a moment. "Why was I chosen?"

"What do you mean?" Alpha asked.

"When the latios fell into this condition, why did you come to me out of all the healers in town?" Nurse Joy questioned. "There are some other well-known doctors out there…"

Alpha closed his eyes and nodded. "You are true about that… you were chosen because you are one that we can trust the most. You see, your ancestors have helped out the Flores and Eon family here before, when another latios was sick." He peeked out of one eye and saw the Nurse's shock.

"B-but they never told me!" Nurse Joy replied, utterly astounded.

"They were never allowed to. One slip up about the legend being true and trainers from all over the region would come searching for a latios and latias to add to their… collection," Alpha explained, shuddering slightly after finishing the last word.

Nurse Joy nodded and looked down at the Latios. Having to live in secret... what was it like?

"You understand that none of you can mention this to anyone, correct?" Alpha queried.

Nurse Joy nodded, her mind set on the decision. _I can't let anyone capture them…_

"People have tried," Alpha said, as if he had read her mind. He shook his head sadly. "Officer Jenny!" he called, moving briskly in her direction. "I need to ask you a favor. Can you protect them?"

…

"Why!?" Rei sobbed, her tears forming salty waterfalls. "Why does this keep happening…?"

"Shh… Rei…" Latias comforted, hugging her smaller counterpart. "It's going to be alright…"

"How do you know?" Rei asked with a sniff. "He's fallen like this so many times…"

"And he's come out of it every occasion," Latios replied, flying over to help comfort the crying Eon.

"And what if he doesn't this time? We've never had to run to get Nurse Joy before..." Rei asked, further forcing herself into depression.

"Here," Latias said, trying to change the topic to cheer her up. "How about we go to the market, with Bianca? I'm sure we can buy something pretty there."

Her suggestion was immediately met with heavy flak. Rei, shocked by what Latias has just said, gently pushed herself away. "No… no! I'm not leaving him here!" she shrieked, before beginning to cry again, alone. "I've just found him… after all this time."

Latios looked worriedly over at her sister. "But Latias has a point. You need to think about something else-"

"Would you leave your sister's side if she was dying?" Rei bitterly shot back. Latios froze, shocked, before solemnly shaking his head.

"Never," he replied, sighing sadly. "Never in all my life would I leave her."

Rei nodded. "Well, I'm not leaving my brother either."

…

The dream kept going. Blu blinked his eyes. Blackness. He rolled over and groaned before picking himself off the floor.

Darkness. Darkness everywhere.

"What… are you afraid of?" an ominous voice asked, the sound echoing off of the nonexistent walls.

"Who's there? Who are you?" Blu questioned, taking several steps back. His heart began to beat faster.

"I do not need to answer those questions. You know the answer already," the voice spoke, but this time, more directly. "Now, what are you afraid of?"

Blu clenched his fist, ready for a fight.

"Now now…" the voice spoke. "If you fight me… you'll find your answer soon enough. I'll make a deal with you. If you tell nothing that you've seen here… in your 'dreams'… I'll let you wake up. It can be a secret that just the two of us know, deal?"

Blu bit his lip and nodded.

"Good. Now wake up."

And the vision faded.

…

"Ugh..." Blu groaned, pain shooting throughout his small body. He tried flying, but a gentle hand on his back kept him on the soft grass.

"Don't move around too much. You'll hurt yourself," a smooth voice told him. His ears pricked up. It was familiar…

"Nurse Joy?" Blu asked, surprised. "Why are you here?"

The nurse chuckled slightly. "I… don't understand what you're saying… but you're welcome," she replied.

Blu groaned uneasily. How long had he been out? His body ached a lot, but from what the nurse said, it could have been much worse.

"Brother!" another voice gasped in relief. "You're fine!"

Blu looked around, seeing only a blinding light. He was still regaining his senses.

"S-sis?" Blu asked, turning his head left and right. "Rei? Where are you?"

"In front of you, silly!" the little latias giggled as she hugged her brother. "You're back!"

There was a moment of silence before the little latios smiled and hugged his dear sister. "Yes… I'm back… back home."

…

"What happened to you?" Alpha asked, walking calmly to the latios' side. "You were sleeping, and then your mind went somewhere else."

Blu blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Don't try to fool me," Alpha snapped. He looked around. Others were still here. "A moment of privacy, please, while I get this sorted out. Except Excalibur."

All the humans and Eons looked at each other uncertainly before exiting. Rei gave one last hug before cloaking and going to fly around the city with Latios and Latias. Alpha was a mysterious figure, but he seemed to be one who strived for good deeds. The humans crowded into the workshop and shut the door.

"Themis…" Excalibur called.

"Alright, Dad. I get it," the gardevoir waved a dismissive hand and leapt out of the garden.

Excalibur and Alpha stood side by side, the former helping the little latios into the air.

Alpha glared at the latios. "Tell us what you saw," he demanded.

Blu shook his head, remembering the ominous voice's threat. "Why should I?" he shot back.

His partner sighed. "We can help you with this."

"Help how?" the little latios replied, adding a small, agitated growl in his voice. "I was fine before, happy with my… father… and then suddenly you guys show up and start double crossing everyone."

"Admittedly, it could have gone smoother with the fake kidnapping, alright?" Alpha snapped back. "But trust us, the plan was carefully laid out."

"A plan which resulted in the people who killed Latios to escape!" Blu roared.

"… You're beginning to accept them as your family…" Alpha realized a bit sadly.

"Yea, no thanks to you," the latios said, rolling his eyes. "You two have gotten involved in my life far enough."

"More than you think…" Alpha muttered under his breath.

Excalibur spoke next, realizing that the latios was unable to trust his partner at all. "Listen, Blu, just tell us what you're seeing. We can even help get rid of the comas!"

Blu sighed and looked up. Could they, truly? Maybe they were right. If he told them everything, they could help him get rid of the thing inside him. The problems… gone. He could be a normal latios. "Alright… but how do I know you're experienced with this?"

"You saw the Testing Facility, didn't you?" Excalibur asked. Blu's body went ice cold.

"That's what I thought. You're remembering."

…

That night, Blu was unable to sleep well. There was a constant fear of the voice. The voice that could control his body at well. He shuddered, scared.

Sometime before, the humans returned back to their jobs, each promising not to mention anything about the Eon dragons. Alpha, in return, gave a locations to where several gang hideouts were in the city. It would certainly make Alto Mare safer. Safety… something he desired so much.

He looked to his right side. Rei was sleeping fine, hugging his wing like a pillow. He blushed a bit. In an adjacent tree, Latios slept next to Latias. Excalibur and Themis napped below the Eon dragons. Lorenzo was working late in the workshop. Bianca was sleeping at home. Alpha, of course, was nowhere to be seen.

He sighed, then smiled. Everything was peaceful. Fine. Perfect.

The cool breeze softly jingled the wind chimes, spinning them in a circle. He put his head back down on his paws and yawned softly. Perhaps he could sleep. He was very tired… but the ominous voice and what Excalibur had told him… it bothered him.

The wind chimes played their melodic tune, and Blu tried to hum it as well. He tried to calm himself down.

_You're safe, Blu, _he thought, trying to comfort himself. _You're fine here._

_ 'Oh, are you?'_ the latios paled. _'Are you truly safe, anywhere you go?'_

"Y-you're here… again…" he whispered. His heart sank further when he realized what was going on. Everything around him began to turn into a dull, gray color. Time was slowing, then stopping.

"No one can help you here… no one," the voice informed in a sinister tone before chuckling. "Now, let's catch up, shall we? It has been some time since we've last met in person."

"In person…?" Blu asked, flying off the tree and scanning the garden.

"Yes… in person…" Shadows began to bend and wisp from around the garden. Odd figures moved from behind trees and every nook and cranny and melded into one another. Before long, a figure began to materialize right in front of Blu's quivering, cerulean eyes.

"Hello there, old friend," Iota whispered. "It's been a long time…"

* * *

Dunh dunh dunh! Cliff hanger! What do you think happens next?

Also, feel free to PM me about your predictions or asking me about progress of the chapters! I'm interested in what you guys have to say.


	38. A Vision of the Future

******Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.******

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

_Thoughts_

A/N: Well, it's been a while, hasn't it?

**Chapter 38- A Vision of the Future**

* * *

"So," the steely voice spoke. "You do remember me, after all."

Blu's body tremored with fear, paralyzed with a cold ice. He couldn't run. He couldn't hide.

Iota took a step forward, his foot floating just above still grass of the garden. Blu tried floating back, but found himself stuck in place. He struggled, desperate to flee or at least to put up a fight.

"Now… what am I going to do with you?" Iota mused as he circled the small latios.

"W-what did I do?!" Blu stammered, his heart beating fast. "I didn't tell them anything about my dreams!"

Iota shrugged. "They guessed what you saw, and you confirmed it. That's good enough for me." The creature sharpened its claws.

Blu could hear his own breathing. "But why? Why are you watching me? Why are you doing this?"

Iota paused for a moment, thinking. "Because Father wishes for this."

Then he lunged, his claws ready.

…

Rei rolled this way and that, groaning and mumbling mysterious words.

After she had fallen asleep, a light appeared. It was a vision… no, it was sight sharing. But… with whom?

She narrowed her eyes and strained her neck as she tried to see what was happening. The bright white light began to filter into an image. It was a circular room, filled with legendary pokémon gathered in a circle around Arceus.

Rei realized where she was. The Legendary Council.

The one she was looking through looked to her left. There, a latios levitated. He looked a lot like her brother… but… larger. Older. Above the latios' shoulder floated a blue light, an entity of some sort. Arceus was speaking words, but they were too muffled to hear.

_'Come on… I need to know what's happening!_' the little latias thought desperately to herself.

"Then you will have to take my place," a smooth, gentle voice replied. There was one more bright flash of light…

…

"And that concludes the events of the month," Arceus finished, and the legendaries around him sighed.

He shot a red eyed glare at Groudon and Kyogre. "Especially you two. Careful with your conflict, as fragile cities stand in your path."

Kyogre nodded, but then asked, "Which ones?"

The latios beside Rei coughed. It was a simple motion that carried much power.

"Alto Mare. Of course," Kyogre said with a sigh.

Arceus nodded. "That will be all for this meeting." Everyone began to turn to leave, until the blue light spoke.

"There have been… discrepancies," it reported. The legendaries began to mutter among themselves. None of them had detected anything strange.

"Are you sure, Guardian?" the latios asked.

The blue light figure nodded. "Positive."

The other thought about this. It was disturbing.

The latios turned to Rei. "What do you think of this, my dear?" he asked.

Rei stopped and stammered slightly, unsure how to reply. "It's… foreboding," she answered hesitantly. The latios gave her a slightly odd look before shrugging the feeling off.

Rei looked around, panicking. She knew where she was, but who was she? She looked down at herself. A latias. The body felt odd because it was larger than what she familiar to, yet it felt eerily similar… as if she was used to it.

She noted a necklace hanging on her neck. The latias looked down. A quarter piece with a shadow of a latias flying to the left…

Just like her own. Rei inwardly gasped and darted a glance at the latios next to her.

A necklace, similar, but having a latios instead. Just like her brother's.

Was she… in her own body? Was this the future?

"The darkness is coming… very soon," the Guardian spoke as Rei felt her consciousness begin to slip away. "Perhaps… it has already arrived."

…

Rei blinked several times, expecting to arrive back in her home of Alto Mare. Instead, she saw a mirror of herself, but larger. Older. Rei was back to her own body.

"Protect him with all your heart," the older latias spoke. "And never let him out of your sight."

Rei blinked, confused. "What are you talking about?" she called out. The older latias was began to fade away.

"You'll know… help him… stand by him, always."

…

Rei awoke before dawn, tired and yawning. She remembered what the older latias had told her and looked worriedly to her right side.

Blu was gone.

"Brother?" she called out worriedly. She looked around and found him standing a bit from the tree they slept in, his back facing her.

She flew over slowly, tilting her head in confusion. "Brother, what are you looking at?"

Blu didn't respond. He just levitated there, still.

"Brother?" she asked once more.

The little latios staggered in the air, before landing on the soft grass with a thud. His face was distorted with pain, his eyes still wide and quivering with fear. Deep scars ran throughout his entire body… down his eyes and through his wings.

"Brother!"

…

A bright light flashed before his eyes, causing him to blink. His usually sharp eyesight had been dulled, making everything around him a blur. He could make out the face of his worried sister, calling out for someone. He smiled and inwardly wondered about Iota's words. Were these his last thoughts…?

…

"Calm down," Alpha informed as he kneeled next to the injured latios.

"Calm down? Calm down!?" Rei shrieked in pure fury. "How am I supposed to be calm if my brother is constantly facing near death experiences every day!?"

Alpha remained still. He motioned a hand out and pointed at one of the scars. "These aren't typical injuries, you see? They may be deep and evident, but there is no blood."

"So?" Rei shot back. She glanced around. Latios and Latias, along with the Excalibur and Themis, stood and watched worriedly from the sidelines.

"This is a type of injury I am… rather experienced to treating," Alpha assured, standing up. He tapped his helmet a few times. "Now… which one was it… protocol level zero, I believe. Rei, only you can heal him."

The little latias blinked with surprise. "Me?" she asked. "How can I help?"

"Well, this isn't exactly the first time you've healed your brother," Alpha replied, causing her to recall the moment with a rather unfriendly gardevoir.

"Yea… but… that was by instinct," she countered weakly, fumbling and stumbling over her own words. "I'm not sure I can…"

Alpha smiled and placed a hand on her paw. "You've always had the courage to pull through and save your brother. I'm sure you have this handled. Just try to remember what you did back then, focusing your aura into a concentrated area…"

Rei nodded and did as Alpha instructed. It took several more tries, but in the end, the latias had an orb of glowing light in her palm. Alpha nodded, rather impressed. She was learning rather quickly.

Then, Rei let the sphere of aura go, and it floated from her paws and landed on her brother, dispersing into a shatter of white light and dust. She held her breath, anxious.

"Ughh…" Blu groaned. "Am I dead yet?"

Rei smiled before sighing and rolling her eyes. "No, you're not. I just saved you." She flew in for an embrace, but Alpha motioned for her to stop.

"His condition is still unstable," Alpha informed. "Let him rest. He needs some sleep."

"It won't be bad, will it?" Rei asked worriedly. "Nothing will attack him while he's sleeping or try to kill him?"

Alpha shook his head. "No, the storm is over. Only the calm breeze lies ahead."

Blu smiled. Calm breeze… although he could barely see, he could still feel an ever so present warmth radiating on his feathers.

With that, he fell into a deep slumber.

But there was one part he missed. "Just know, Rei," Alpha cautioned, "When he awakes, he may not be the same as you knew from before."

…

Blu awoke to the sound of chirping birds and a familiar warm sun. He blinked several times, making out only a few images. The happy face of a larger latias of… his sister? The images began to flash, more sporadically. He could hear screaming, panic. He felt his own body flying towards a conflict and then…

Silence. His sister was now weeping beside him. He couldn't move anymore.

The last thing he heard was the calm water, the water he knew so well…

…

"Hey, guys?" Rei asked, flying over to Latios and Latias in the garden. "Have you seen Blu?"

Latias scratched her head and shrugged. "No idea, sorry."

Rei sighed. "Hmm… I'll ask around. See if anyone has seen him."

Flying into the work room, she spotted Lorenzo, busily working on a new gondola._ 'Hey, Lorenzo, have you seen my brother anywhere around here?'_

Lorenzo shook his head. "I'm sorry, no," he replied. Rei thanked him before exiting into open air, growling slightly in irritation.

_Where is he now?_

…

Blu stood at the edge of Alto Mare, his feet planted firmly in the ground. He liked the feel of the calm wind ruffling his hair. The scars, for the most part, disappeared from his latios form, and even more in his human form. Even then, however, whatever Iota had done had its effects.

He knelt down to let the cool water flow past his fingers and sighed before standing up straight again. The city was beautiful, so beautiful…

He just wished he could see it.

Yet, even then, he pondered about the vision that came afterwards. True to Alpha's words, it had not harmed him, but it did worry him. Was the vision of the future? Was he going to die?

And what of the mysterious figures? Alpha, Iota, and most of all, Epsilon. Who—and what—were they? And what about the portal the led to the Legendary Council in the workshop, disguised as a wooden wall? Were there even more things he didn't know about?

He shook his head. He could think about all of this later. _Perhaps,_ he decided, _I should go back before someone starts worrying for me._

_'Brother!' _an exasperated voice called out. He turned to face the being behind him. He couldn't see that it was his sister, but he knew she was there. _'I've been searching for you all day! What are you doing here, walking around?'_

He shrugged, adjusting his white hoodie and placing his hands in the pockets. _'Well, Latias did it a lot. It's just exploring.'_

She sighed. _'Of course. Anyways, it's getting late. We should head back now.'_

Blu nodded in agreement. The warmth on his skin was growing colder. How long had he been there, thinking? He sighed and walked slowly back to his home.

Yet, even as he walked with Rei leading the way, there was one thing that bothered him the most.

'Because Father wishes for this,' Iota had said, his voice echoing in Blu's mind.

… Father?


	39. Origin

******Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.******

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

_Thoughts_

A/N: Guess there aren't too many people reading my story anymore... *sigh*

To those reading, thank you. Anyways, here we go! ^w^

**Chapter 39- Origin  
**

* * *

It was a rainy day across the world. Something had to cool the newly formed terra. Magma hissed and hardened as oceans began to rise. It was here when Arceus began his creations. Out of nothing, he created many legendary pokémon. Some were large and menacing, others small and cute. Some vital to the role in the world, others more minor. No matter who they were, he considered all of them his children.

The first legendaries were granted immortality and a spot in the Legendary Council. They served as Arceus' senses and guardians when he was gone. Yet, back then, he remembered one unique creation…

"Is something wrong, little one?" Arceus asked, startling the poor soul.

"N-no…" the being replied, stuttering slightly. Arceus could sense its hesitation.

"Feel free to tell me," Arceus urged on gently.

The being sighed. "It's just… all the others. They all have counterparts. Partners. Rivals."

Arceus looked on at the other legendary pokémon. Raquaza, Groudon, and Kyogure. Cresselia and Darkrai. There seemed to be no pokémon alone except…

… him.

The creator frowned. "Is that why you hide from the others so much? You believe you don't fit in?"

The creation nodded, although slightly hesitantly.

Arceus looked towards the ocean. "Search out there, little one. You will find a friend soon enough."

…

It was an extremely fascinating story. Blu turned page after page. Although they were simply speculations about how Latios' and Latias' parents had met, even far out myths, it was too interesting…

"Latias?" a faint voice cried out. He ignored it, having to reread a line. "Latias!?"

Blu sighed and shut the book his hands before trying to pull his hair out in exasperation. Could he get even a little peace and quiet around here?

He stormed out of Lorenzo's workshop and opened the door leading to the Secret Garden. "What is it now with you guys?" he asked, tired and irritated of the distractions. "I'm trying to read!"

Bianca sighed. "My homework's gone for the fifth time this week and I'm suspecting Latias has something to do with it. Problem is, she's hiding and won't tell me!"

_'I told you I don't know where I put—I mean, I don't have it!'_ Latias shrieked.

"Latias," Bianca said, gritting her teeth. "Please give it back…"

Blu sighed and looked off to the side. Apparently Rei was trying to teach Latios how to paint.

"Like this?" Latios asked, making a strike on the white canvas with a brush.

"No, no…" Rei took the brush from him and with her hand, gently created a curve on the white sheet. "Like this."

"Ohh… ok," Latios said, nodding and gripping the brush once more in his claws. _'This feel rather embarrassing…'_ he told Blu in a private telepathic channel.

_'Don't worry. I'm rather bad at it too,'_ Blu replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Themis and Excalibur were busy chatting away and Alpha, of course, was nowhere to be seen.

Blu sighed and tried to return to reading when a voice called him out.

_'Blu did it!'_ Latias accused. _'He has your homework!'_

Blu blinked in confusion. "Huh, wha-?"

Bianca was also rather confused. "Why would he have my homework?"

_'Well…' _Latias said, searching around for a good excuse. _'He's awfully good at doing it…'_

Bianca turned to Blu. "Well?"

Blu sighed and, opening his book, pulled out dozens of sheets of practice homework, each one filled out to the fullest. "In all truth," he informed as Bianca took the sheets back and read them, "Latias said that I would help you if I helped do your homework."

Bianca's eyes widened. "You mean…" She reread the pages. "You did all of this?"

"During my free time," Blu said with a shrug. "What about it?"

Bianca shook her head. "I know that Eon Pokémon are smart enough to understand human speech… but to be able to read, comprehend mathematical equations, and write essays?"

Blu blinked. "Is… this a problem?" he asked.

"Only the fact that there aren't many pokémon that can do that," a sudden voice spoke, surprising everyone.

"Jeez!" Blu exclaimed, instinctively jumping into the air, changing into his Eon form, and getting ready in his battle stance. He lowered the claws when he realized who it was. "Alpha… don't scare me like that."

The soldier shrugged and leaned against a wall. "Likewise. Anyways," he looked around the room. He had everyone's attention. "The father of the guardians always wanted to remain well informed, so back then, he learned multiple languages and studied human culture. What they do, eat, etcetera."

He paused and walked closer to the group. "I suppose he wanted you to know it as well," Alpha finished, looking at Blu.

Latios and Latias traded uneasy glances, with the latter uncloaking. _'Alpha…' _Latios questioned tentatively. _'Why did our father decide to raise someone else instead?'_

Blu winced slightly. It hurt whenever the perspective of stealing someone else's parent came up.

Alpha chuckled. "I seem to know all the answers, don't I?"

"You were certainly around for a longer time than me, I know that for sure," Excalibur jutted in.

Alpha shrugged. "Alright, I'll answer. There were some contracts and agreements made that resulted in your father's… position," he replied vaguely. "In the end, raising Blu as a child was the closest he could get. Even though things were different, he watched through the Soul Dew every night, wishing to be with you. You can have my promise on that."

_'And what about Mother?'_ Latias asked.

Alpha grumbled something under his breath. "That's a question no one knows the answer too…"

There was an odd silence.

"Anyways," Alpha said, changing topics. "The reason I came back was to inform you, Bianca, that Blu will be joining your classes."

There was a silence.

"What!?" Blu cried out in disbelief. "You did what!?"

Bianca couldn't understand the little latios' cooing, but she took it as surprise. "Are you sure about this?" Bianca asked. "What if someone finds out or people score higher than him?"

"I'll ensure that he isn't discovered." He paused. "As for the latter part, I believe he already scores higher than you."

Bianca clenched her hand into a fist. There were some members of the new family she didn't particularly like…

Blu broke the silence. _'I still think there's a problem.'_

"And what's that?" Alpha asked.

_ 'I still can't see.'_

…

Arceus watched, amused, as his creation flew across the ocean, searching. Yet never once did he peek under the water.

_A friend? Out here?_ the creature wondered to itself. He flew over the water for what felt like the third time before sighing and resting in the air above. "I can't find my friend…" he admitted sadly.

"Perhaps she is hiding from you, just as you hide from the others. Both of you feel as if you don't fit," Arceus said.

The creation looked at the water. It was shimmering in a pure blue, but looks could be deceiving. Summoning all his courage, he plunged his head in…

… and came face to face with a red version of himself.

"Whaa-!" the creature cried as he jumped back, startled. Several other legendary pokémon turned their heads to see what the matter was.

Shyly and hesitantly, a red version of him poked her head out of the water. She blinked. He blinked. One waved, and the other did so as well.

Arceus smiled. "Both of you hid from the other legendaries because you felt you never fit," he explained. Both of them turned towards their creator. "One of you hid in the sky, one of you in the ocean. Yet, now that you have come out of hiding, you have found each other. This is your partner. May your friendship ever last."

_One of you hid in the sky, one of you in the ocean…_

This is how the original Guardians of Alto Mare met. Sky and Oceana.

…

"Concentrate your aura in front of you," Alpha instructed.

Blu followed his instructions, trying to summon a mysterious power that he had never known before. As soon as he thought he had it, the feeling left his grasp. He threw down his paws in frustration. "This isn't working!" he complained.

"No, it shall. Try again," Alpha ordered.

That's it. He had it. Blu whipped around and growled very deeply. "Listen, why don't you just leave me alone? I told you, it doesn't work! And to begin with, I don't even trust you!"

Alpha sighed and stood firm against the Eon Pokémon. "Then tell me how you were reading that book if you couldn't see."

Blu blinked. "I… uh… I guess the words just flowed into my mind…?"

"I had given the text a bit of aura. And tell me how you knew where I was when you turned around."

Blu's wings and paws slumped. "I don't know," he admitted. "It was as if there was something guiding me."

Alpha placed his hand on the little latios' shoulder. "You know aura. I feel it in your body. You can do it."

"That still doesn't give me a reason to trust you," Blu shot back.

"And what for?" Alpha asked.

"Well, for all I know, I was living happily with one who cared for me when suddenly, soldiers rush in and I get teleported to a city I've only been told stories of. I'm alone, and that night, you knock me out and kidnap me. Then, after you let us out of cages, I see my guardian _die…_" Blu paused, wiping away a tear. "And then you take us here, to this… place, and then there are people hunting us and I'm constantly being hurt… and visions of… something!" Blu flew lower and floated face to face with Alpha. "Do you know what that is like!?"

There was a silence. Blu, although he tried to hold them back, had tears flowing down his face. He was crying. It had been a rough journey.

Alpha leaned against the wall. "Yes, I do know what is like."

Blu growled again. "Explain yourself."

"I once had comrades. Soldiers. Partners that I could rely. Yet, back then, family was pitted against family, brother against brother. It was a war," Alpha told, shocking many, including his long time gallade companion. "I told them what to do. To remain safe. Some didn't believe me… and they perished. Dear friends of mine, gone forever in a long lost conflict." His steely eyes stared back at Blu. "But that was a long time ago," he said with a sigh. "Perhaps you'll believe me now?"

Blu looked away. He still had his thoughts.

"Listen, even though I can be funny at times, I am dead serious right now. Do you want your vision back or not?" Alpha stated.

"Fine, I'll try again," Blu said. He closed his eyes and concentrated his aura once more…

… and then saw his entire family in a new light.


	40. Wolfy

**Chapter 40- Wolfy**

"Speech"

'_Telepathy_'

_Thoughts_

Many, many years ago, before both time and space, there was a single egg. Out of that egg was Arceus, the god of all Pokémon. The legend goes that he himself had created all life on Earth and in the universe. It went without saying that he knew everything that was to happen in that world. However, also created from the egg was something far more sinister. As Arceus created life around the newly born universe, the creature would go around and destroy everything. Arceus knew that the creature was not made by him, and it would destroy anything in its path. He could not control it. Even he was terrified of it.

A great battle ensued while the fate of the universe hung in balance.

Fortunately, Arceus was able to defeat the terrible creature and destroy its soul, something that not even death itself could accomplish. The god had taken millions of years to search through every boundary of time and space to annihilate every single soul fragment to ensure that no other disaster like this one had ever occurred. By the time he was done, however, his old universe had completely collapsed on itself and he was forced to start anew, now creating the Pokémon universe that we all know and love today.

However, in the deepest and darkest parts in the world, the danger still lurked. It lived, banished from ever seeing the outside world. There in the shadow, he was focused on his revenge against his dear brother, creating disaster to disaster, waiting for the right moment to strike.

While his brother slept, the creature created the ultimate weapon to retaliate. It began to plan its revenge…

…

Latias drew up plan after plan, puzzling over papers she had placed on the bench. Simple and compound pulleys would be placed on the branches over there… ropes go through there… and last but not least, the most important part of the plan…

"Latias, what are you doing?" a voice asked, startling the Eon Pokémon

"Eep! Nothing!" Latias replied, hiding the most critical part of the plan behind her. "Nothing… suspicious at all!"

Blu sighed and set his bag off to the side. "Of course…" he shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Next week, he was going to go to a school. He would be surrounded by people he never knew. At most, he might've seen them while flying overhead. What were they called? Strangers. He shuddered at that word. He would know no one… except Bianca, who would be in a few of his classes.

He stood there, pondering of his thoughts when he felt several raindrops fall onto his head. "What the-?" Blu looked up just in time for an entire bucketful of water to land on him.

"Sorry, sorry!" Latias apologized, desperately trying to hold in her giggles at the same time. "That was meant for Bianca."

Blu rolled his eyes. "Right…"

Latias flew down lower and looked at him. "So… what have you been up to?"

"Alpha suggested I take a walk down at the market. Get used to the crowds and people and all," Blu replied with a shrug. "Still creeps me out sometimes."

"Hey, don't worry!" Latias said. "Some humans are pretty nice and fun to play with!"

Blu shrugged. "They're still kind of weird…"

"So are you," Latias butted in. "It'll take time to realize that you're a lati when you've lived your life as a human, or think yourself as a human when you're truly a latios. But… one way or another, you'll figure out how."

Blu smiled. Yea, it would take time…

"Again!" a familiar voice farther in the garden shouted. He hurried over to spot Themis and her father dueling, dagger to elbow blade. They were nearly equal in skill. Green lights danced through a bordered area as their weapons met. Even Latias watched with awe at their speed and skill, neither affording to be the first one to trip.

"They're practicing again, it seems," Alpha observed as he leaned against a tree. Others joined in to watch. "It's just like the old days…"

Blu smiled. Things seemed better in the old days, even if they weren't the long ago. But even then, there were happy times now.

…

The cryptic creature darted from rooftop to rooftop, never letting itself be seen, not even a glimpse. Its purpose here was simple, yet of great importance.

…

A student at the local school dashed along the numerous bridges and sidewalks that lined the city.

_No no no no… _the student thought to himself. _I'm going to be late, again!_

He rushed into the building, swinging open its great metal doors before racing down the empty corridor.

Please don't tell me… he thought to himself again as he opened up the door to his classroom.

"Jeremy?" his teacher called out.

"Here!" Jeremy replied, panting heavily.

"You're late. Again," the teacher stated with a sigh. Jeremy opened his mouth to reply, but the teacher spoke before she could hear his excuse. "Try not to have it happen next time, alright?"

Jeremy nodded silently and took his seat next to a friend. "Hello Bianca," he greeted.

"Hello," she replied as class began. The teacher speaking monotonously and soon faded into the back of the two student's minds. "So, what happened this time?" she whispered.

Jeremy scratched his blond hair and fixed his glasses. "Mom spent too much time browsing the market again…"

The teacher coughed, bringing both student's attention back up to the board once more. "Jeremy," she asked. "What is the solution to this equation?"

Jeremy studied the problem keenly before announcing, "Two times the square root of two."

The teacher nodded, then added, "Please keep your attention in class rather than speaking with your classmates."

…

"What are you doing!?" Rei hissed. "We're going to get caught!"

"Oh come on…" Blu mumbled. "Our species is known for hiding, right? We'll be fine!" He peeked through the window, spotting the lessons that the teacher was teaching on the board. They seemed too easy… "Let's go inside!"

Rei grabbed her brother and held him back with her claw before he could fly away. True, they were both hidden with their feathers but it was still a huge risk. "The doors are shut. We can't go in without anyone suspecting anything."

Blu studied his surroundings. "There's an open window over there." He pointed to the second floor of the building.

Rei rolled her eyes. "Five minutes," she relented with a slight groan. "More than that, and we're in big trouble."

The duo carefully flew in the open space, warily watching their wings. They ended up on the second deserted floor room of the school, with no idea how to get to the class on the first floor.

"How about the ventilation shafts?" Blu suggested.

Rei made a face and sighed. There was no stopping her brother, was there? Even if he was blind and still a novice at aura vision, he was risking so much just to gain knowledge. "Fine, just watch your flying…" she said, inwardly groaning. Oh yes, his flying was _terrible._

Blu smiled. "I have no idea what you're talking ab—" He was interrupted after he drifted into a stray desk. He shook his head to clear the confusion. His sister simply sighed.

…

"Tag! You're it!" Latias shouted as she streaked through the calm air of the garden.

Her brother grumbled something before giving chase. "Alright, I'm coming for you!" he shouted, joining her sister in the numerous, complex aerodynamic maneuvers. He nearly got her when suddenly she reappeared below him and head-butted him in the stomach.

He gave a grunt and halted in the air, only to hear his sister's laughing resonating in the garden.

"Jeez… really? You're that fast now?" Latios asked, impressed.

Latias gave a small shrug. "Well it has been three years, and I have been training!"

"I'm not that bad of a flier… definitely not as bad as Blu," Latios remarked and then paused. "Where is he anyways?"

Latias gave a grim look. "Rei is missing as well… but where to?"

…

_Clank. Clank. Clank._

_'Could you be any quieter!?'_ Rei hissed, making sure she was floating just above the metal's surface. The ventilation was parallel and just under the ceiling of the classroom below.

_Clank._

Blu sighed. _'Fine, I'll admit, I can't fly in such a tight space so sorry that I can't be any quieter!'_

_Clank._ He pulled himself with his claws, inching ever so closer to a vent for a peek of the classroom.

There! He was so close…

His blue eyes glittered at the priceless knowledge. Everything he could learn…

But someone was watching. He quickly ducked out of view.

…

Jeremy stared at the vent up ahead. It bothered him that someone could be watching from up there… but who would?

"Daydreaming again, Jeremy?" the teacher asked. He quickly snapped back to attention as most of the class burst into poorly held back giggles.

"I heard something in the vents," Jeremy informed the rest of the class.

There was a moment of silence as everyone, including the hiding Eon duo, held their breath.

"Ah, just your crazy imagination again!" a student named Tom retorted. "It's just the wind!"

"But I'm sure I heard scuffling…" Jeremy whispered to himself. Bianca heard it too and was quicker to uncover the suspects.

_'H-hi Bianca…?'_ Blu spoke over a private telepathic channel.

_'What are you doing here?'_ Bianca hissed, part angry, part curious.

Rei sighed. _'Brother wished to explore the school more thoroughly…'_

_'It's still within the five minute mark!'_ Blu shot back.

Bianca inwardly groaned. _'Please go back home, I have a hard enough time focusing on class and even a harder time with you two disrupting it.'_

There was a silence and then softer scuffling as the duo made their retreat. The new Eons kept running into all sorts of events, didn't they?

…

"I told you that was a terrible idea!" Rei nearly shouted once they were invisible and outside.

"Well we weren't spotted. Not completely," Blu argued back.

"Even Latios and Latias know better—we have to remain hidden!" Rei replied. "Now let's go back before they—"

"Realize that you two ran off?" Latios finished before sighing. "It's a little too late for that."

Latias flew beside him. "You know it's dangerous to go on your own."

Blu pouted. "Why can't I explore? Who knows of our existence anyways?"

"Nurse Joy, a few high ranking police officers, Bianca and Lorenzo, and an evil organization that wishes to capture us," Latios counted off. "Last time Latias walked out, even disguised as a Bianca, I was scared to death when Team Rocket came. And even after that, they still pursued us and almost destroyed the city."

Blu looked away. "But Alpha said he had precautions… right?"

Everyone gave him a look. "Do you really trust him?" Latias asked.

Blu had a moment of ambivalence. One part of him did, yet another part was still suspicious about his mysterious nature. He had helped in some ways yet harmed in others. "I… don't know."

The larger duo softened their look. "Look," Latios said. "All I'm worried is the safety of my family, whether it be my sister or you two. Just… stay hidden or else an army of trainers could be trying to track us down."

Blu nodded and Rei sighed in relief. Hopefully he had learned his lesson.

"Do you think it would be an army?" Blu asked.

Latios shrugged. "No idea, but I want my family to be in one piece, not broken apart by multiple trainers who want their hands on a Legendary Pokémon."

Silence.

"Let's head home," Latias suggested, and the four flew off in the calm sky.

_I don't want to be alone again._

…

The bell rang with its harsh bang.

"That's all for today," the teacher concluded. "Your homework today is to read textbook pages 349 through 360."

Bianca sighed and walked down the long corridor to the exit, but then paused when she heard a one sided fight break out behind her.

"Come here!" A gruff voice shouted.

"Let me go!" she heard Jeremy shout. Bianca turned around to see Tom grabbing Jeremy by the head while several other students surrounded him.

"Now," Tom asked, grinning. "What do you have this time?"

Bianca gritted her teeth. "Let him go!" she shouted at Tom before cringing slightly.

The larger student looked up and faked a shocked look. "Oh, and what are you going to do about it, artist?" He threw Jeremy against the lockers. "I expect that homework for me and my group tomorrow. Got it?"

The frightened Jeremy nodded and Tom stormed off.

"Thanks," Jeremy sighed as Bianca helped him off the ground. "I owe you one. He usually does a lot worse than that."

Bianca smiled. "Well, it's what friends are for, right? Helping one another?"

Jeremy gave a weak smile. "Yea, you're right."

"Come on," Bianca said. "Let's go."

As they exited the school building, a cold breeze came to greet them.

"Hey, Bianca?" Jeremy asked, scratching his head in thought. "Do you think the Legendary Pokémon exist? Like the latios and latias in the myths we're taught about?"

The question caught Bianca off guard. She paused before countering, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, they are supposed to be the guardians of the city, right? So where were they when everything started going for the worst?"

…

Night had fallen like a blanket over the garden. The Eons were peacefully asleep. The day was over, so Bianca and Lorenzo had long returned to their own home.

The creature approached the entrance of the secret wall, hesitantly. It took a few steps forward, passing through the illusion and into the garden.

Its purple eyes darted around, searching for the one it was looking for.

There.

Silently, the creature approached the smallest latios, who was still sleeping peacefully after a day of adventure.

The creature placed its scythe against the little latios' neck, singeing his feathers with a small hiss.

All he needed to do was make a clear cut.

That was his task.

* * *

Well... it's been a while, I suppose. But I'm still writing ^^


End file.
